Broken Wing
by Sailorcelestial
Summary: A SailormoonGundam Wing crossover. Written several years ago, reposting. Setsuna sees a terrible future for the Gundam pilots, and knows only one person who can avert it. Complete.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, _Broken Wing_ is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, _Mended Wing_, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Prologue**  
by Sailorcelestial

_Light expanded from the lone section of the Libra still headed for Earth. The explosion was soundless in the vast emptiness of space, but it blared with ominous force inside her mind. Her hands were spread on the window of the shuttle, her blue eyes wide and quivering as she stared into the fading brilliance that had been the light. Her brother had been there. Could he have survived?_

_Before her silent question could be answered, another, smaller explosion lighted up inside Earth's atmosphere. What was that? It couldn't have been . . . no . . . not . . . the Wing Zero? One hand abandoned its perch on the window to cover her mouth as it tried to release a sob. She wouldn't cry. Not until she knew for sure that they were dead._

"_Are they alive?" she whispered a spilt second before she turned her helmeted head to the man who was piloting the shuttle, "ARE THEY ALIVE?!?"_

"_I can't be certain about Mister Milliardo, but I'm picking up traces of debris inside Earth's atmosphere that are definitely Gundanium alloy. The Gundam that went into the atmosphere no doubt exploded."_

"_But he could still be alive," she insisted, grabbing the man's sleeve in desperation. She remembered how Hiiro had nearly fallen to his death outside the military hospital, releasing his parachute too late. But he had miraculously survived. If he could live through a fall like that, he could survive an explosion. Couldn't he?_

"_I'm afraid not, Miss Relena," the man shook his head sadly as he studied the readout, "I'm also picking up . . ." he paused, as if unsure how to phrase what he wanted to tell her, " . . . I'm picking up . . . human debris. Tissue, bone matter, blood. He didn't make it."_

* * *

Relena's memory ended there, but the soldiers had told her later that they had caught her when she fainted, and guarded her all the way back to Earth. 

That had been a year ago.

Now Relena sat on her bed, hands carefully resting on her legs in her usual fashion. She had been raised with proper manners, and the lasting grief she felt over the loss of her brother and Hiiro was no excuse to let propriety drop. No, she was still Relena Peacecraft, and she had a job to do.

She stood and walked to her bathroom to look in the mirror. Staring into the familiar blue eyes of a stranger, Relena ran a hand through her short, boyish hair. The decision to cut her hair had come not long after that day. It was her way of mourning. When she allowed her hair to grow out again, then everyone would know that she was moving on. A year later, only a few of the people who knew her best were beginning to worry. Everyone else seemed to think that it was natural for a girl to mourn so long for her brother and for a close friend. Only Relena knew what Hiiro had really meant to her, and only she knew that she would never let him go. This mourning would never end. Not until the day she died.

With no emotion she lifted a hand to swing open the mirrored door to the medicine cabinet. Within sat a single bottle of pills. These sole inhabitants of Relena's medicine cabinet had taken up residence there about five months ago. Her excuse was that she suffered from terrible headaches, which she did, and no one would deny Relena Peacecraft anything she needed. But she had not used one of those pills. She saved them, not quite certain why but knowing that if the time her subconscious mind was preparing for came, she would know.

She silently closed the cabinet and turned, walking out of the bathroom.

Her mourning would never end. Not until the day she died.

* * *

The figure carefully contemplated the images that it had just seen. Death, and despair, all for the death of one boy. The girl named Relena Peacecraft had fooled herself into believing that she mourned two people, her brother and the boy she loved. But the figure knew the truth. Relena did not mourn her brother at all. No proof had ever come forth that Milliardo Peacecraft had perished in the destruction of the Libra, although most people found it easier to simply believe he was dead. Those who knew him, however, had a faith that he was alive somewhere in outer space. 

It was the boy, Hiiro Yui, that Relena missed the most. He was proven dead, and she loved him.

The figure shook its head and spoke.

"This cannot come to pass. Hiiro Yui must live, and Relena Peacecraft must not be allowed to despair."

A staff appeared in the form's hand. It resembled a large key and fit perfectly into the hand it was designed for.

"The course of Time must be preserved."

Another window opened before the observer, and another set of future events unfolded.

Duo pulled the brim of his cap lower over his eyes. His trained ears picked up the sound of footsteps on the wet pavement behind him. His stalker was not giving up. They wouldn't attack him as long as he stayed on the crowded street, but Duo couldn't avoid the fact that he was running out of crowded street. Night was creeping into the city quickly, and with its arrival people were dutifully filing into the safety of their homes. Unlike Duo, who had no safe place to go.

_Well_, he thought to himself, _I might as well go ahead and deal with this joker._

But he didn't really feel that confident. For he knew who it was who followed him.

Without warning he slipped into an alleyway, removing his cap and tossing out onto the sidewalk as a signal to the stalker. _I'm here. Come and get me._

Standing in the shadows, anticipating the arrival of his enemy, Duo shook out his newly shortened hair. It was shoulder-length now, a far cry from the long braid he had proudly worn for so long. With the murders of all of the engineers who had helped build the Gundams, and the mysterious, unexplained death of Quatre Winner, Duo had thought that the removal of his trademark braid might be a good option. Obviously it had not earned him the anonymity he thought it would, for the murderer had found him anyway.

"You know I'm going to kill you, Duo," stated the shadow that had joined him in the small space. A small build hid the boy's inherent strength and resourcefulness.

"Yeah, well, why don't you come over here and get it over with, huh, Wufei?" Duo's voice wavered. It was a normal inflection that was always present when he spoke, but became more pronounced when he was nervous or afraid. Silently the boy cursed for letting his fear get the best of him.

Wufei didn't bother to respond, or even mock his former comrade. Duo dodged the first barrage of fists, but neglected to move timely enough to avoid being hit in the jaw. He scowled as his tongue darted from his mouth to taste the coppery blood that flowed from his split lip, staining his chin. His indigo eyes sparked as he lurched forward, fist aimed at Wufei's stony face. His shadowy enemy grabbed the fist in his hand and twisted Duo's arm around, forcing the chestnut-haired boy to turn to alleviate the pain. A swift kick in the back and Duo stumbled forward, hitting the pavement hard on his shoulder. He wasted no time in bounding back to his feet.

_Oh man, he's better than the last time we fought . . . worlds better . . ._

As Wufei strode forward, face slack and body relaxed in perfect calm, Duo began to get a real sense of the danger he was really in, and his hands began to shake.

"You're not kiddin' are you? You're really gonna kill me!" He stumbled back in surprise, staring out from the damp brown hair matted to his wet face, "Then . . . it really was you who killed Quatre and the others!"

In answer Wufei merely reached into his pocket and pulled out a lock of white-blonde hair, tied with light blue yarn. Duo's eyes widened as he recognized it as Quatre's. Another step backwards brought him to a brick wall. He didn't really want to fight Wufei. Not only because the two had gotten to know each other somewhat before the events that had ended in Hiiro's death, but because he didn't think he would win. Duo could fight, but he had already proven that he couldn't fight like Wufei. But pride and anger wouldn't let him hold back the words he knew would enrage his enemy.

"Damn you, Wufei. You're just a coward," he managed one of his devil-may-care smiles even as his nemesis pulled out a dull black handgun, "Can't deal with the memories, huh? So you're erasing all of the people and things that remind you of what we Gundam pilots used to be."

Wufei's face contorted with anger, but he didn't physically attack as he would have only one short year ago. This surprised Duo so much that he didn't even hear the gun fire. In fact, he didn't even realize that the blood dripping onto the pavement was his own until he was face down in it, and by then it was way too late. He attempted to push himself up only once. For the few moments that he managed to keep his head up, he glared at Wufei in betrayed anger.

"I told you I would kill you. Don't act as if you thought I wouldn't."

Wufei aimed the gun at Duo's face and fired three more times.

* * *

The observer quietly closed the time window, and was solemnly silent for a few moments in respect for the boy who had fallen in the scene that had just played out. Duo Maxwell hadn't deserved to die like that, gunned down by a former comrade. No one deserved that, and this form was determined that this future would never occur. 

Clutching the key staff tightly the watcher stepped from the shadows to reveal a tall, tanned woman with a sea of green-black hair that cascaded to her knees. A serious face, locked forever into a severe expression of responsibility too hard for such a lovely visage, stared out into the dark mists of the plane she inhabited. There, in the shrouded distance, she could see the outline of the Gate she guarded and maintained. The Gate she had sent the Senshi though so many centuries ago. The Gate she had not passed through in nearly as many years.

But that was the only choice now. Drastic changes needed to occur, both in the weapons of the Gundam pilots and within their minds, to avoid such a radical and tragic future. She knew this, but because of her isolation she didn't quite know how to bring about the mental changes. The physical changes, yes, but she knew little about the inner workings of the typical human mind. And the mind she needed to change was certainly not typical. The Guardian rapped her staff on the ground as she pondered the problem of finding someone who could reach such a hard person as Hiiro Yui without taking him off the chosen path of his destiny.

There was only one person.

She could easily contact the NeoQueen. The Guardian was one of the few beings in the Universe who knew the whereabouts of the last true Moon Kingdom royal and her descendants. Serenity was one of those people . . . she had that tendency to get under a person's skin and become a part of them before they realized what was happening. But she was old. Not physically, of course. Physically she was only about twenty-three years of age, and that way she would stay forever.

Serenity had the combat and ruling experience needed to lead such an incorrigible group as the Gundam pilots, but her age was a problem. The boys would never follow someone of that age. Youth, especially these youths, had a natural distrust of adults. For the pilots, nearly all adults were their enemies, part of OZ and the Romafeller Foundation. No, Serenity would not be the best choice, despite her experience.

The Guardian needed some form of Serenity, however, if she expected to be able to make her plan work. A younger version would be acceptable, though not preferable.

The boys were 15, save Trowa . . .

Trowa.

She hadn't looked in on his future. _What will become of the oldest of the pilots if this future goes unchanged?_

She opened another window on the circus where Trowa was known to spend his time when he wasn't being a Gundam pilot.

* * *

The lion became a kitten beneath Trowa's gentle touch, purring for attention as if it had always been so tame. The boy gave a small smile. He never smiled for people, only animals. Not since Quatre had died. 

"Trowa!" came the voice of Katherine, the red haired acrobatic woman whom Trowa called sister and for whose voice he was grateful for at the moment, "You've got a telegram from Earth!"

He paused. Who from Earth would send him a telegram? The only people he knew there had been Quatre's men. As far as he knew, they had long abandoned Earth, the final resting place of their young master.

Trowa stood and accepted the paper from Katherine's hand with a hard expression on his partly hidden face. His jaw set, leaving his lips in a thin line of anger as he read the telegram, eyes even more flat and unreadable than usual.

_This is it then_, he thought as he looked up and across the circus that he had come to call home, _I will leave here, and search out Wufei, and either kill him or die in the process. Either way I won't return here. Killing nameless soldiers in space is one thing. Killing a person you once considered a teammate is another, and I won't corrupt Katherine._

"I'm leaving here," he informed his sister with a nonchalant tone as he tossed the telegram over his shoulder, "I'll be going to Earth. I once asked the authorities there to keep me informed of certain people, and they have done so. The situation there requires my presence now."

He walked away from her, the information brought with the telegram still burned in his mind. Duo was dead. It had taken DNA testing to confirm the body's identity, seeing as the face was little more than mulch mixed with bullets. It was a violent killing, unlike those of the engineers and Quatre.

Trowa frowned. The police had told him that there was no way to say for certain that the boy had been murdered. After all, he could have simply fallen off of that cliff, or committed suicide. As if someone who had everything would want to kill themselves. Quatre had been a Winner. Rich, with bodyguards up the wazoo and anything his kind little heart had desired. And in the last seven months of his life, he had also had Trowa. The older boy had not left his young companion's side for a moment. There was just something about Quatre, with his pale looks and gentle heart coupled with deadly fighting ability, that captivated Trowa. He had known from the first second he met the young Winner that something special was happening between them.

But it had ended that night when Wufei tossed Quatre over that sea-side cliff. No, Trowa hadn't seen it happen and no, he couldn't prove either the identity of the killer or even if it had been murder at all but he _knew_. Quatre didn't take midnight strolls along dangerous cliff edges by himself, and Quatre wouldn't have killed himself. Not to mention the fact that poor Quatre's face had been more battered and bruised than a fall would have done. He had been beaten. Of course the police didn't believe Trowa. It was much easier to assume the death an accident or a suicide than try to hunt down a nameless, faceless killer with no motive.

Of course, the killer was neither nameless nor faceless to Trowa. He knew the name only too well and the face would never leave his memory. Wufei.

He would kill Wufei.

Or die trying.

* * *

The Guardian frowned and immediately changed the window to a new scene. The fate of Trowa and Wufei.

* * *

Wufei's dark eyes lost the last of any true feeling that may have been held in them as he gazed silently up at his handiwork. Blood from several wounds dripped down his left arm and joined the pool on the ground. Life soaked the grass and colored the mud a dreary shade of red as rain pattered into the liquid, diluting its purity. 

Trowa's body hung limply from a tree. His blood no longer dripped, it had been flowing for far too long. It was all spread on the wet ground, and Wufei's mixed with it as he stood there. The dark haired boy was almost sorry he'd given in to the urge to show off his kill as a trophy. Pride was a strong force, however, even when it was for the wrong action. Unlike Quatre, Trowa had not been weak, and Wufei felt that a certain amount of pride was in order for such a kill.

Still, there was that voice from deep inside his mind that told him killing Trowa had been wrong. That every kill he had made in the past year was wrong.

It was nearly over. There was only one more person to dispose of.

Wufei limped through the crimson mud towards his fallen katana. His pale hand wrapped about the handle slowly, shaking ever so slightly. As he was righting himself by pushing the blade deep into the mud , Wufei recalled the words he had said to Trowa seconds before cleanly snapping his neck.

_As fighters, we Gundam pilots represent a risk to the peace of the Earth and the colonies. I cannot allow that risk to exist._

Finally catching his breath, Wufei turned the katana blade in on his own stomach, prepared to atone for the dishonor of killing his teammates. But he hesitated. Did he really deserve the right to absolve his sins with his final act? Whether he wanted to believe it or not, the events before Heero Yui's death had effected him, made him not quite as hard. He had respected these people, yet killed them all in cold blood. No, he did not deserve to absolve those sins from his soul.

Wufei took the blade from his stomach and instead slit his own throat.

* * *

The Guardian shut the window quickly, a slightly heartsick expression on her stern face. So young, all of them, to die in such gruesome manners. Isolated from the universe as she was she had not known the condition of things until it was too late to stop the spiral towards darkness. Such a universe to create boys so hard they could murder nameless people by the thousands, then kill each other. She felt a heavy weight in her soul from the knowledge that she could have changed things if only she had caught it early enough. 

But enough dwelling on what she could have done. It was time to act, to stop the scenes she had just witnessed from moving from the future into the past. Future was fair game, but the past was off limits. If she wasted enough Time to let these events happen, then they could never be altered.

She tapped her staff against the ground again, and the Gate's heavy white doors opened wide. Maroon eyes peered into the unknown of the Time warp. In their depths could be seen the Guardian's hesitation, and fear of her own failure. But she braved the hardest part of this journey, the first step through the Gate, and flung herself into the mercy of Time.

End Prologue.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter One**  
by Sailorcelestial

Colonel Une stared at the viewscreen, her brown eyes narrowing behind the glare on her glasses. If OZ's pilots couldn't get any better than _that_, they wouldn't stand an inkling of a change against even one of the Gundams. A scowl marred the stern beauty of her face as she motioned to the screen.

"Call those pilots back and send out the next group," her low, hard voice was specifically designed to put fear into the hearts of her underlings, no matter how mundane the order.

"Yes, Colonel Une," the soldier she had addressed answered briskly.

"Colonel Une," came an unfamiliar voice from behind her, "I've brought you the reports from the colonies, as you requested."

The colonel turned and let her flat eyes look the speaker up and down. The woman was dressed in the black, slightly stylized uniform of a lieutenant, with green tinted black hair tied up in a single bun. Her maroon eyes were tilted towards the ground in proper respect for a higher ranking officer. All in all, she seemed a typical OZ soldier.

Except for the fact that Une had never seen this woman before in her life. She knew all of the lieutenants, and would have remembered perfectly the face of anyone she had asked to bring her reports. But this woman was a complete anomaly.

"Identify yourself, soldier," Une barked, and the woman blinked in seeming surprise.

"Lieutenant Meioh, Colonel . . . remember? I transferred here about two months ago . . ."

Une frowned and her mouth opened, words of denial about to spill from her lips when those maroon eyes flashed with a strange light that, for a moment, sent a shiver up the OZ officer's spine. When the light subsided, all memory of what she was about to say was wiped clean from her mind.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Meioh," she snapped instead, snatching the reports cleanly from the officer's hands, "Dismissed."

Une watched the woman leave, a scowl plastered on her face. She'd never liked Setsuna Meioh, the entire two months that the lieutenant had been aboard Barge. She was certain that the dark haired woman was trying to get in and steal her position. Well, that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon. Une made a mental note to see about having Meioh transferred again as soon as humanly possible.

* * *

Setsuna smiled softly to herself as she walked the corridors of Barge. Une, as a woman who was used to having her commands strictly obeyed and knowing everything and everyone aboard her vessel, had been easily tampered with. As far as she was concerned, Setsuna was who she said she was. A new lieutenant transferred from somewhere else to duty on Barge, which was just setting orbit above the moon, in contact with Lunar Base. My, that's where the captured Gundam pilots were being held. How convenient.

After pulling her mental trick on the soldier stationed to guard the mobile suits, the Guardian of Time set off towards Lunar Base.

She entered the prison area, populated only by the people being held there. Officers and soldiers generally stayed away from this section of Lunar Base, for no one wanted to be caught there should any prisoner escape. No, it would not be their fault.

She didn't need to search out the cell she wanted. The location, as well as everything else about this time period, was etched into her memory. Boots heels clicking solidly on the metal floor resounded in her ears and she smiled, grateful for such a small pleasure. Such sounds couldn't be heard in the plane between Times.

So engrossed she was in the pleasures of being on the mortal plane, that she nearly missed her stop when it came. But she came to her senses just in time, and turned to look at the plain metal door. Within those walls was held the savior of the future, although he didn't know it yet. Setsuna placed a hand upon the doorway and took in a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh. She didn't have very long before Trowa and Une would arrive to take Hiiro for the first field test of the Mercurius and the Va8. Time was not on her side in this matter; there was so little of it free so that she could speak with the pilots without being seen.

Setsuna unlocked the cell door and swung it open. She knew that she was in effect standing in the middle of a bright white light, her features vague at best to the two boys sitting within the dark room. As her own vision adjusted to the darkness, Setsuna laid her eyes on Hiiro Yui and Duo Maxwell for the first time in person.

Hiiro truly was a handsome young man, with dark brown hair that insisted on invading the cold, unfeeling plain of flesh he called a face. Brown seas of indifference stared at her from under the strands of hair. His thinly muscled arms were draped over his knees and bound together by handcuffs. He didn't speak to her; he probably thought that she would speak to him if she so desired. And she did.

Duo was leaning calmly back against the cell wall as if he were not imprisoned at all, but in the middle of a vacation in a sunny paradise. Only one of his indigo eyes popped open at her presence, and when he saw her he simply smirked and closed the eye again. She smiled almost lovingly at him as the vision of his future flashed in her mind. It was so good to see him alive and well, complete with braid. Setsuna sighed and brushed her hand over her shoulder in an attempt to push back her own green-black hair, which normally rested there, but was now pulled up into her bun.

"I don't expect either of you to trust me," she began, getting that part over with from the beginning, "but whether you do or not, I am here to help you."

Duo snorted, obviously disgusted with her openness, but Hiiro merely glared at her. Those eyes . . . so cold and hard . . . they didn't seem natural on a boy his age. It was enough to unnerve even the stoic Guardian of Time.

"Yeah, right," Duo began in his oddly inflected voice, never moving from his comfortable seeming position on the wall, "An OZ lieutenant just waltzes right on in our cell and claims to want to help us, and we're supposed to believe that? You've got a few screws loose, lady. We ain't that stupid."

"I know you aren't, Duo," she said his name lightly, as a mother would speak to a loved son, and he straightened at her tone, giving her a hard glance, "None of you are stupid, and I wish that your intelligence alone were enough to keep the five of you alive, but it won't be if you don't listen to me."

The braided boy's eyes narrowed at her words, and Hiiro didn't move even as the barest hint of interest entered his cold gaze.

"We're listening," Hiiro grunted in a monotone, and Duo glanced at him in shock.

"WHAT?!? Have you completely lost it?? She works for—"

"I know who she works for."

Setsuna nodded gratefully in Hiiro's direction. This acceptance from him was the last thing she expected, but she didn't have the time to let it distract her.

"I can't tell you everything right now; your friend Trowa is on his way as we speak to take Hiiro to test pilot one of the new mobile suits," she saw the confusion in their eyes, and realized that at this point in Time the name Trowa was not known to them, "Trowa is on your side, no matter what he may say or do. There are many things for all of you to learn and all five of the Gundam pilots must be brought together before I can begin to teach you."

"We learned everything we needed to know before we left for Earth," Duo nodded at Hiiro's statement.

"Correction, you learned everything that the scientists could teach you. But there is much that they don't and couldn't possibly know."

"And you do?" Duo scoffed as he gazed at her with disbelief sparkling in indigo pools.

"Yes," she replied simply, moving back towards the door. Seconds were ticking by; seconds that brought Trowa and Une closer to the cell. Setsuna stepped out, maroon gaze glancing in the direction she knew the two would be coming from. One hand rested on the door as she began to swing it closed, but before she shut them back into darkness, she spoke one more time, "All you need to know now is that I know someone who can help you, and will bring them to Earth soon. Farewell, brave pilots."

Light slanted as she shut the door quietly, and the two pilots were locked back into darkness.

* * *

Duo stared into the blackness where Hiiro was only a moment ago. The braided one's vision was still adjusting to the sudden change from light to dark. Ever so slowly he began to be able to see his cell-mates outline in the shadows that shrouded them both.

"What do you think you're doing, huh?" he asked only when he was able to tell for certain that Hiiro still sat out of arms reach, "That's an OZ lieutenant!"

"I know," came the answer in low monotones. Hiiro didn't even bother to move.

"You're crazy, you know that? Absolutely nuts."

Silence met Duo's comment. Apparently Hiiro didn't consider it important enough to formulate a reply. Duo rolled his eyes and sighed. His sigh was that of a person with the weight of more than a world on their shoulders. There were colonies out there that also depended on the work that he and the other pilots were doing. As he stared out into the blackness that made the small cell seem larger, one of those moments came upon him.

It was a feeling that it was all so unfair. He was fifteen, still a child in most people's eyes. Any other boy would never admit that he still balanced on the fence of life, constantly leaning back and forth from childhood to maturity and back; any other boy Duo's age would have insisted that he was a competent adult. But the burden of his responsibility made the braided-boy realize the truth. He was a boy, not a man. Yet he piloted one of the most deadly machines that humanity had ever dared to create. What was it about Destiny that made it such a cruel taskmaster? He should be going to school, dating, and arguing with parents and siblings, not risking his life with every breath that passed from his lungs.

"You ever regret being a Gundam pilot?" he murmured in Hiiro's general direction, not really expecting much of an answer.

"No," came the response, "how can I regret what I've been raised to do?"

Duo sniffed.

"I figured as much. You really are a piece of work, you know that?" Suddenly Duo felt the need to strike out at someone, anyone, for the emotional abuse he had endured in the form of expectations, "You're just as much a machine as the ones we pilot. You're programmed, that's all. That's why you don't feel anything, because you aren't programmed to feel. You do only what your sick little scientist tells you to do."

"Kinda like you?"

Duo blinked. Hiiro's reply was cruel, but accurate.

"Yeah, I guess ya got a point there," he admitted as he leaned back against the wall.

His musings might have lasted a bit longer, save for the fact that the information given by the lieutenant was correct. The door swung open again, this time revealing two figures. One was a woman, face hard and eyes holding a certain amount of cruelty. The other was a boy about their age, with hair that hid half of his face. His expression was completely indifferent, as if he didn't care one way or the other whether he was here or somewhere else. Duo assumed that this was the one named Trowa, although the face was not familiar.

"Well," the woman asked in tones of impatience, "which one do you think should test pilot the Mercurius, Officer Barton?"

Barton, as she called him, let the voids empty of emotion that were his eyes pass from Duo to Hiiro. It was unnerving, the way that his eyes were the only things about him that moved. Finally he made a gesture in Hiiro's general direction.

"Him," languid was the only way to describe his voice, a voice that Duo immediately recognized, "He's less likely to try to escape than the other."

The woman nodded briskly and motioned to the two guards outside the door. As mechanized as OZ's mobile dolls the soldiers came at their ranking officer's beck and call, picking up Hiiro and marching him out into the hallway, leaving a wide eyed Duo behind. He scowled. For all he knew, they could be taking Hiiro for execution under the guise of test piloting a new mobile suit. He watched the woman, vaguely hearing one of the soldiers addressing her as Colonel Une, as she smirked at him, obviously very pleased with herself. She turned and followed her lackeys, gesturing to Barton to follow her. Trowa Barton paused just long enough to stare silently at Duo, then stepped out and closed the cell door behind him.

Duo was left alone to consider several things.

The first was that Trowa Barton, the officer working directly under Colonel Une it seemed, was a Gundam pilot. Duo recognized that voice from the time when all five pilots had been together on Earth. He hadn't seen all of their faces, but their voices were ingrained in his memory, and there was no doubt that Trowa was one of them. So why was he wearing that OZ uniform??

And just how had that lieutenant known that Une and Trowa would take Hiiro? They hadn't even seemed to know themselves which one they wanted until their arrival. Was it just a lucky guess? If so, it had been damned lucky. Duo frowned and gave the door an indigo glance.

Not to mention the fact that Hiiro seemed all too ready to trust this mysterious lieutenant. Hiiro. Hiiro Yui. Duo shook his head. Hiiro still didn't trust _him_, but he was willing to trust some random OZ officer that suddenly dropped by and claimed to want to help them? He snorted in disbelief. Hiiro was nuts.

It was too late now to do anything about it, however. All Duo could do was sit and hope that Hiiro wasn't out there choosing a pattern for his blindfold.

* * *

Setsuna returned the mobile suit to its proper place on Barge before she donned her Senshi fuku and left the Universe for her more comfortable abode on the plane between Times. She sighed as she ran a hand over her shoulder and was pleased to find her hair there, as usual. After countless millennia of having green-black hair to shove behind her shoulder, it was annoying to still have the habit, but not the hair.

She shook her head. There were more important things to worry about.

Like how she was supposed to earn Duo's trust. And after that, Wufei's. Where were they going to stay when they arrived on Earth? How was Usagi supposed to interact with five boys, the majority of whom would rather kill her than look at her? Could Usagi befriend the pilots? And if she could, would she be able to do it and remain the pure, innocent soul she was? Setting in to motion a new timeline always blocked Setsuna's foresight, and there were simply too many questions to answer, even for the Guardian of Time.

She released a sigh and the mist that surrounded her stern face curled about and in on itself, billowing out away from her shimmering maroon eyes. Tiring as this was going to be, Setsuna knew that it was the only way to save the five pilots and the future that they would create.

So much to do, and just where to start?

Rest first. Action could come after she rested.

* * *

Sailormoon sighed and pulled a hand across her forehead, wiping the sweat from her skin. She looked up with panicked tears in her eyes at her friends, who were just beginning to rouse themselves from the ground. At the sight relief burst the dam of her heart and her face crumpled as she sank to her knees, sobs shaking themselves from her chest. Placing her face in her gloved hands, Sailormoon sobbed her fear and relief out.

"Usagi-chan . . ." she heard Minako's voice, and felt arms wrap around her in a comforting hug.

"Usagi . . ." that was Rei, the one hugging her, her best friend.

"Please don't cry, Usagi-chan . . ."

"And why shouldn't I, Ami-chan?!?" Usagi cried through her weeping, "I thought you all were dead! I thought I'd let you all die AGAIN!" Her tear-filled pause was silent, for all of the Senshi were giving each other worried glances, not knowing what to do with this miserable, anguished Sailormoon, "I don't want to do this anymore! No wait, I never did want to fight . . . I NEVER wanted to fight!" She turned her sorrowful blue eyes up to her friends, and they all saw the pain, regret, and determination in them, "This is it. I won't fight anymore," even as those words spilled from her lips, Sailormoon's fuku disappeared in a flurry of ribbons, and Tsukino Usagi took the brooch from her school uniform. She handed it solemnly to Sailormars.

"Usagi!"

"No," the blonde answered simply, shaking her head, "Take it. I don't want it anymore."

"Usako . . ." Tuxedokamen stepped up, taking her hands in his, "I can't say that I agree with you," he began, receiving nods from the Senshi and a hard glance from Usagi, "But if this is what you feel you have to do then I am behind you."

"MAMORU-SAN!"

Mamoru shook his head and raised a hand to silence the protesting soldiers. His decision was final, they all knew. He would stand by Usagi because he loved her, and had faith in her. He believed that she would one day realize how the world needed her, and return to being Sailormoon more powerful and dedicated than ever. And if she didn't . . . well he would still love and support her.

His tuxedo and hat disappeared, leaving Chiba Mamoru to walk his girlfriend home.

Later, outside her home, Mamoru sighed and looked at her.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked her one last time, hoping that the quiet walk home might have calmed her a bit. He was disappointed to see the resolute shining of her blue eyes. That look was familiar to him. He'd seen it too many times before to mistake it for anything else other than pure Tsukino Usagi determination. She would not be swayed. He sighed, "Alright, I understand. I won't speak of it any more and I won't try to change your mind. But I can't make that same promise for the others."

"I know, Mamo-chan," she said, smiling a small smile, meant to encourage him. How could she know that for the first time since meeting her, her smile had the reverse effect? To him she seemed perfectly content to pull out of the battle and let the other four take on the Dark Moon by themselves. What would they do if she really never fought again?

Die, most likely.

* * *

Quatre's blue eyes wavered as he stared out of the enclosed control area to where the nearly completed Gundam stood. His body, leaning against the control panel on rigid arms, was taught with his lingering anger. The boy was ready to pounce on anyone who dared to oppose him in any way.

"It's almost finished," his eyes narrowed as the words tumbled in a murmur from his lips, "Soon . . ." The boys head fell, his chin hitting his chest as those once innocent eyes closed, "Father . . ."

He remembered the figure of his father standing against the window of his ill-fated ship, staring stoically out at him and his sister. Then the colony had fired . . . and the ship . . . gone. Lost in the explosion, taking his father with it. That idiotic, foolish colony fired too soon, without really listening to what the elder Winner had to say. OZ held all of their minds firmly in its grasp, poisoning them into violent action. And that . . . that was why it had to pay. All of the colonies did, because they were all poisoned by OZ. OZ was everywhere.

Ever so slowly his head rose, eyes opening to gaze out into the work area, where his project was near completion.

Quatre would exterminate OZ with his new Gundam.

Wing Zero.

* * *

Infinity, or merely a second or so, had passed in the immortal realm between Times. Setsuna was once more positioned before the Gate, maroon eyes gazing sadly on its white polished surface.

She was not supposed to interfere. It was an unspoken rule. But over the millennia it had become increasingly difficult for her to simply stand and watch, allowing Time and other more sinister forces to carry on their work in peace. First the rule was broken when she contacted Sailormoon to help Small Lady, who was trapped in her dreams, chased by the dark youma of dreams. After that . . . well . . . she preferred not to think of it as breaking the rule. She preferred to think of it as helping her friends.

The Time staff glinted in the dim light of the realm. It seemed to be encouraging her on her way, knowing more than even she that Time was short. Setsuna nodded and sighed. Her fuku faded in a gentle wash of violet light, to be replaced by the black uniform of an OZ lieutenant. Once more her hair was swept into the single bun atop her head that annoyed her so much. If only the military wasn't so strict about such things.

With a flourish mastered over many centuries packed into millennia, Setsuna commanded that the Gate of Time be opened to the proper time. Of course, being a sensible Gate, it did precisely that.

_Don't worry_, she thought to the five pilots, knowing that they could not hear her, _I won't let you die . . . I'll preserve your destinies and your lives._

End Chapter One


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Two**  
by Sailorcelestial

"Man, this is such a lame way to die! This is NOT cool!"

Wufei said nothing. It was not his place to speak to his companion when their air supply was steadily decreasing and Duo was determined that it meant certain and inevitable death. The black-haired, raven-eyed Gundam pilot simply sat on the ground, calmly flipping the slides on the small projector device the one named Trowa had slipped to them. While Duo rolled around on the metal floor in an almost amusing display of abject misery, Wufei quietly studied the designs projected onto the cell wall. From what he saw, the scientists had planned to make Deathscythe and Shenlong both bigger and more destructive than before, and Wufei couldn't wait.

_Ah, Nataku, you will be even stronger than ever. Will I be worthy of piloting you then?_

"What're you doin'? There's no point in that anymore!"

"Be quiet if you want to live a little longer."

"It would take something drastic for us to survive now!"

"I'm doing everything I can just in case that something drastic does happen." Wufei answered simply. He did not believe in giving up, especially not so soon. So he continued to flip through the projections, pretending to study the designs when really he had already memorized them and his mind was elsewhere.

Women. Who knew what went on in their heads? Wufei remembered the encounter at Victoria Base, when that woman, what had her name been? Lieutenant Noin. When Lieutenant Noin attempted to stop him from destroying the new model mobile suits. She had put up a good enough fight. For a woman. Yet it seemed that she had the nerve to be surprised that he had beaten her.

And that Major Sally Po. So weak, her and all of her men. They fought in small, petty battles that they could not possibly win. The odd thing was, they knew they had no chance of winning, yet still they fought on, and why? So OZ could wipe them all out one by one, or even by small groups at a time? Wufei didn't understand their impulse to fight when they knew they were weak.

What of this mysterious Lady Une, who had refused to order her soldier to fire on Nataku, when it was obvious that the Gundam was badly damaged and it along with its pilot were in no condition to battle? She seemed to be a pacifist, yet she worked for OZ, an organization that loved conquest and power above all things, including peace. Wufei had a feeling that there was some story there yet to be told, for he remembered the muttered words of the soldier directly under her, who had thought that his comm system was turned off. _Which Colonel am I supposed to follow anyway?_ Yes, there was definitely more to that tale than was advertised.

Finally, that OZ lieutenant, the one who claimed to want to help the Gundam pilots escape. What was she truly scheming? When she had come the look on Duo's face had told Wufei that she was no stranger to the braided one. And her assertions were so strange. She wanted to help them, but she couldn't tell them how, or why, or even exactly when. Only that she was bringing someone to Earth soon, who would help them. Help them how? And why was this OZ officer so willing to help Gundam pilots?

Wufei stopped, sensing the decrease in air as well as one might sense the presence of someone standing behind them. It seemed that merely sitting around and not talking was not going to be good enough to keep them alive.

_As I told Duo and Hiiro, your intelligence alone will not be able to save your lives._

The words of the Lieutenant.

Well, his intelligence and special abilities were going to get him out of this mess. He would make sure of that.

Wufei set the projector down and settled himself on his back. With a skill that came from many years of training the boy first slowed his breathing considerably simply from control. Then, as he slipped into a meditative state, it became nearly impossible to discern whether or not he was still actually breathing. In this condition he wouldn't need nearly as much air as before, therefore he wasn't worried by the fact that Duo would probably use most of it in a matter of a half hour or so. Duo would die, leaving the rest of the scant air to support Wufei until such time as either the doors were opened, or Wufei himself finally succumbed to death.

* * *

The only sound that could be heard in all the vast area of space was the heavy, almost whimpering sound of his own breathing. Why was he breathing so hard? It wasn't as if he had spent any energy at all. No, the colony had fallen without a fight as far as he was concerned. Their mobile suits, their paltry weapons, were all little more than flies to him. Insects whose lives were insignificant in his grand scheme of how the universe should be; how peace should be achieved. It was his universe, his colony, and their lives had been his.

He was Wing Zero.

No . . . wait . . . Wing Zero was the suit, the machine. He was not Wing Zero. He was Quatre. Quatre Raberba Winner, and he had just destroyed an entire colony.

"Father . . ."

No time. No time to reflect on a past that could not be changed. Only on the future, which opened up into possibilities so numerous as to be dizzying.

As he sat there in space, the light of the dead colony only now fading into blackness, the path of the most probable future opened up before his eyes. He saw the woman in the OZ uniform who was not what she seemed. He saw the golden haired one, the angelic creature who would come from a far away place to become a significant player in this game of war. She also was not all she appeared, for around her glowed a soft silver light; it was like moonbeams had fallen from the sky to bathe her in their glory. These two would be important because they . . .

The golden light of Wing Zero went dark abruptly. Quatre blinked, surprised and unnerved by this sudden cessation. It took him a moment to realize that the vision had stopped because the future was so very unclear. Somehow the presence of these two women would alter the future so much that no distinct path lay in the direction they would lead.

_I won't follow them. I don't have to. I can make my own future, as long as I have Wing Zero._

This colony was dead. It was time to move on to the next.

It took little more than a thought to send the Gundam into motion, flying at an amazing pace towards the next colony. Quatre found himself thinking that this was truly an amazing machine, a one in a million piece of work.

_Sandrock . . ._

A flash of the last moments of his first Gundam invaded his mind, almost causing tears. Wing Zero was remarkable, but Sandrock had been his own. Sandrock had seemed, if only once, to have a mind and a will, and it saved his life with that will. He missed Sandrock, more than he would ever miss Wing Zero should it, through some improbable fluke of Fate, be destroyed.

"Quatre!"

The voice, so familiar, permeated from somewhere out in space, breaking apart his lovely daydream. Quatre searched the view screen with only a vague sense that he was actually looking for something. Out amongst the small points of twinkling stars there were two sparkles that were not stationary. They were moving, moving closer to him. Two mobile suits. Wing Zero's arm raised, prepared to fire, when the voice came again.

"Quatre, it's okay, we'll fight with you."

Trowa? Could it be that tall young man who once stayed with Quatre and the Manguanecs? The mysterious one, with deep green eyes of pain, and who claimed no name but gave one anyway, the one that Quatre had been longing to see again ever since that day.

"Stay away from me," he heard himself say before he knew it, "I'll kill you, stay away from me!"

"Quatre?" Trowa's normally even voice of no emotion wavered somewhat. He sounded almost as if he were worried, "This isn't you. Where is the kind Quatre that I knew?" From the screen Quatre saw the blue mobile suit moving closer, and he panicked.

"I said STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"

The beam cannon fired almost before he even realized that he'd commanded it to do so, as if Wing Zero's controls were merely an extension of his own mind. Quatre thought he heard, ever so faint in the noise of the blast, a sound of surprise issue from Trowa. That, of course, was impossible. Trowa could not be surprised.

Through the formless haze of his consciousness Quatre saw the blue mobile suit try to move out of the way but get caught by the blast. Somewhere deep in a part of him that was neither mind, nor heart, nor soul, but an amalgam of them all, he cried out in silent apology. His mouth did not open, no sound issued, but he felt that Trowa had heard. Yes, the boy had heard and understood.

"I'm going to kill you, Quatre," came the voice of Hiiro, who was somewhat less understanding. The platinum haired boy realized faintly that Hiiro had been speaking and he had only caught the last part, the declaration.

_Kill me? He's going to kill me? No . . . because this isn't right. We . . . we shouldn't be fighting._

Hiiro could not hear his inner thoughts or cries, however, and Quatre watched as the red mobile suit came barreling towards the nearly invincible Wing Zero.

* * *

From an isolated room within Barge, the uniformed Setsuna observed the battle between Wing Zero and the Mercurius. This was to be a turning point. After this battle the events of their lives would change drastically from what they would have been to what Setsuna and Usagi were going to make them.

Usagi.

Setsuna felt sorry for the girl-soldier and her friends. The Guardian fought the guilt in her at her meddling with Usagi's mind, but it couldn't be helped. Like NeoKing Endymion's horrid dreams, Setsuna had done this for the good of the Senshi, although they would not see it as such. The Senshi loved Usagi, and protected her, but none of them truly realized the impact she had on their battles, no matter how many times they had seen her save Earth. If forced to fight without her, they might come to realize just how important she really was to them.

Usagi also needed this. She needed to know how vital she was to the world. She needed to see the future impact she would have long after Crystal Tokyo. And more than anything else, she needed to see that sometimes one must fight in order to receive the peace they desired.

Out of the corner of one maroon eye a flash on the screen caught her attention. Realizing that with allowing her mind to wander so had she allowed her eyes, Setsuna returned her gaze to the battle. The flare from the Wing Zero's beam cannon was just fading, leaving behind a badly damaged and doomed Va8. Her gaze settled on that flashing figure, knowing that within it was the boy Trowa. Yes, here was the turning point. Right here. In a few moments her chance would come. Setsuna tapped in a security code and prepared to speak with the emotional Quatre who would face her in just a minute.

* * *

"TROWA!"

_What . . . what have I done?_

Quatre watched, blue eyes quivering, as the blue mobile suit exploded into brilliant light. His mind was hazy; he didn't quite understand exactly what had happened. He knew that he had fired on Hiiro in the red mobile suit, but Trowa protected the stoic soldier. Now, Trowa was dead. Incinerated in the destruction of that suit, just as Quatre's father had perished in the explosion of his ship. Quatre pitched forward in his seat, almost gagging on his grief it was so thick. He was the same as OZ. He killed in exactly the same manner: ruthless, blindly, and without heart.

"TROWA!!!" he screamed again, this time with tears spilling in sparklets from his eyes. Quatre clutched the Wing Zero's controls and started to move the Gundam towards whatever remnants may have been left of Trowa's suit. Perhaps . . .

Without warning he was knocked from his course by the heavy red bulk of Hiiro's suit. The two mobile suits slammed into the colony with considerable force, leaving a smoking, dusty trail of demolished buildings and other colony debris.

"Quatre . . ." came Hiiro's voice, strained over the comm system. The blonde boy could hear the pain in it; Hiiro was wounded. It was his fault and he knew it.

"HIIRO!"

Quatre moved to open the cockpit door. Before he could, however, his viewscreen flashed into life. On its flat, dim surface was the face of a woman. Her features were stern, as was her green-black bun and stylized uniform, but her eyes were kind.

"Quatre Raberba Winner," she said. Her voice was tight and controlled, but he could sense the caring hidden within her tone. This woman knew him, and cared for him.

"Who are you?" It was the only thing he could think of to say.

"My name is Setsuna. You mustn't tell Hiiro my name. He knows of me, as do the other pilots, but you are the only one who knows my name and that must be. For now anyway."

"Alright," Quatre nodded, mesmerized by the powerful aura of this woman.

She was the woman in his vision! The one who would bring the angel to save them!

"You must take Hiiro to Earth. There, just outside of the Sanch kingdom's southern border is an old base. Take him there and help him. You will find everything that you need there to nurse his wounds and feed yourselves."

"Yes, I will." His complete trust in her took him almost by surprise. But he could not deny the kindness that he felt from her. It was too tangible. She smiled at him then, and even through the static fuzz on the screen he saw the tinge of sorrow in that expression.

"It is good to see you well, Quatre."

"I'm not well . . ." he murmured, flicking a last, longing look in the direction of the long dead explosion, "I killed Trowa."

"Do as I told you," she said, ignoring his guilty comment, "and all will be well, I promise."

* * *

Air.

Fresh, breathable air.

It was the sudden in rush of that life giving substance that woke Duo from the near death sleep he had fallen into. He all but flew into a sitting position, his braid flopping over his shoulder. Beside him Wufei was stirring. Bright light pouring in from the noticeably wide open door blinded him. Duo grinned and turned to his companion.

"Care to escape?"

"Let's give them payback first."

Duo laughed, leaping to his feet in what might be considered barely contained joy. He wasn't going to die after all! This day just kept getting better!

In moments the two were running through the corridors. Duo found that he was not the only Gundam pilot who had been told to memorize the layout of every OZ base in known existence. Wufei knew the floor plan of Lunar Base just as well as he did. The braided one gave a little grin. _Well at least I won't have to worry about him holding me back._

The wide control room opened up before them as they ran through the doorway. Lying on the floor was the still form of the officer who had been with Trowa. Her glasses lay not far from her limp hand. From beneath her body seeped the treacherous red of fresh blood. Duo skidded to a halt and knelt beside her.

"Wufei, wait!"

"Why," asked the raven-haired boy with a look of pure disgust written on his features, "she's an OZ officer, and none too kind I might add. If she dies here, it is one less member of OZ for us to worry about."

"Look, she's a human being, and she's dying. We didn't shoot her. So we should help her. Besides," he nodded upwards to the control panel where the cell door release lever was pulled into the open position, "she was shot because she helped us. She's the one who freed us, saved our lives."

"She could just as easily have been shot trying to stop our savior," Wufei stated practically. With that he turned and continued on his way towards the rebuilt Shenlong and Deathscythe. Duo paused momentarily, then grimaced and rose to follow. He didn't feel right about leaving the woman behind, but Wufei was right. She may not be their savior. And she WAS an OZ officer. It was better to let her die than to waste time trying to help her and give up his own life. Still, it didn't feel right.

"Stop!"

Duo did so, but only because the three soldiers in front of him were blocking his way. All were pointing guns at him. He raised his hands in the air, a smirk on his face. He knew the smirk would drive the soldiers crazy. It always did.

"Well, looks like ya caught me. Oh well, I guess that OZ officer bleeding back there on the floor will just haveta die, with no one to help her."

"What are you talking about, Gundam pilot?" The lead soldier glared at him in obvious distrust, but he was at least willing to listen.

"I thought I was being loud and clear. OZ officer. Bleeding. Floor," he jerked his head in the direction of the control room, "Back there."

The three looked at each other for a moment. That short amount of time was enough for Duo to land a kick that knocked the guns from their hands. Then he punched one soldier in the gut and the other, whom he recognized as on of the guards who had beaten him, in the face.

"Go and rescue your officer, soldier," he said to the third, who glared at him in palpable hatred then ran past him towards the dying woman. Duo sighed and jumped over the squirming man who was holding his stomach and moaning. This was turning out to be a good day indeed.

* * *

After sending Quatre on his way to Earth, Setsuna switched her console screen to the action at Lunar Base just in time to see the Altron and the Deathscythe Hell defeat the last of OZ's despicable mobile dolls. She smiled, and sighed happily. Hiiro, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei . . . the scientists couldn't have chosen better pilots for their Gundams than these five. If anyone could lead the colonies into peace through war, they could. They could show the colonies and Earth the pain and destruction that war cause. They could show that there is no happiness for those who fight.

Setsuna shook her head to clear it and switched on the viewscreen.

"Duo Maxwell and Chang Wufei, I'm glad to see that you've escaped." As if she ever had any doubt that they would.

"You!" Duo cried, his indigo eyes wide with surprise. Wufei was silent.

"Yes, it's me," she answered, not able to control the slight lilt in her voice. She decided that she'd been spending too much time talking to Usagi and Minako, "I'm here to tell you where you need to go now."

"How did you know that Trowa would choose Hiiro?" Duo completely ignored her statement. She could see even through the static of the screen that he was leaning forward in anticipation of her answer. But what answer could she give?

"That will be explained later, Duo. Right now you and Wufei must go to Earth. Both of you. There is a base-"

"I will not go," Wufei interrupted, "I will not go where an officer of OZ tells me to go. I don't trust you."

_Ah, Wufei, always blatantly truthful._

"I'm not sure I trust you either."

_Duo . . . forever annoying._

If neither of them trusted her, how was she supposed to get them on Earth? She needed all five pilots there when she brought Usagi. Silence guarded the three as she thought on how to lead them to Earth without their trust.

"If you don't trust me," she began, "then at least consider this. Your new Gundams, powerful as they are, are damaged as well as incomplete. The scientists did not have a chance to finish them before this escape. On Earth, in this place that I tell you to go, your Gundams can be completed and repaired."

Setsuna carefully studied their two faces in turn, trying to decide whether they were listening or not. Duo chewed on his lip in fervent deliberation of her words. Wufei's dark eyes bored into hers when she glanced at him, black as night and expressionless. They revealed nothing. _Please, oh please let them believe me . . ._

She was about to sigh and give up when at last Duo spoke.

"I'll go. Right now it's the only place I can think of where I can get Deathscythe repaired. And we all know that Shinigami can't be at his destructive best with an incomplete Gundam!"

Setsuna smiled at the wide grin plastered on Duo's face.

"Well, Wufei?" she asked, turning expectant maroon eyes to the quiet boy. His mask of indifference melted into a look of extreme annoyance. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes to speak.

"I will go, but only to have Nataku repaired and completed. If this place you tell us is a lie, then I will destroy it and find you to kill you. Understand, Onna?"

"I understand, Wufei. But I promise you that this is no lie. I would not lie to you."

_I will keep things from you . . . but I will not lie . . . _

"Where is this place?"

"It is at the southern border of the Sanch kingdom . . ."

* * *

Two days later, at the southern border of the Sanch kingdom, four boys met all together for the first time. The braided one waved brightly towards the wounded boy, and the dark eyed one glared in distrust at the blonde.

"Hey there, Hiiro!" Duo grinned. Hiiro grunted. "Hiya, Quatre."

"Hello, Duo," Quatre replied with a good natured smile that nevertheless had a tinge of great sorrow to it. Duo studied the boy for a moment before deciding to let Quatre deal with whatever was bothering him on his own. He opted for introductions instead.

"Wufei, meet Quatre! He piloted the Sandrock, right Quatre?"

"Right," the boy answered, the sadness creeping from his false smile into his voice.

"Wufei pilots the Shenlong. Well, I guess it's the Altron now, huh?"

Wufei did not answer. He merely stood there with arms crossed and glanced about the place where they were. Duo sighed as Hiiro broke from Quatre's helping grasp and limped away. Hiiro was _always_ limping.

"So, uh . . . how'd you get here?" he asked, for lack of anything better to say.

"A woman told me to bring Hiiro here. She said that we'd find everything we needed to dress his wounds and to survive until she came."

"What?!?" Duo stepped back a bit to look into Quatre's eyes. He really didn't need to. He should have known that Quatre was speaking the truth; he always did. "Was she an OZ lieutenant, green black hair and maroon eyes?"

"Yes!" Quatre blinked and looked up, "She told me that you and Hiiro knew of her."

"We sure do. She came to talk to us while we were at Lunar Base. She's the one who told Wufei and me to come here so our new Gundams could be completed."

Quatre and Duo stared at each other, both wondering silently who this woman could be, and how she seemed to know so much. Finally they both glanced away. Quatre looked to Hiiro, who was his responsibility, and Duo tried to find Wufei only to discover that the raven-haired one had vanished into the dusty old base.

He tugged on his priest's collar and sighed as he looked on that crumbling building. It certainly was old. The cobwebs inside were so thick that Duo could see them through the windows, many of which were broken or cracked. The dirty red bricks that made up the outer walls were also cracked. Duo walked over and tapped one of them lightly with a fingernail. Part of the brick chipped and fell off as if it were made of chalk. He sighed again.

"This place is a dump. It looks like it's been here forever! How are we ever supposed to survive here?"

"That woman must have come here before to prepare," came Wufei' voice from inside. A moment later the boy himself stepped out of the door, "There are five rooms, one for each of us, and you will know which is yours. She knows us somehow. She knows what we like, what we dislike, our hobbies and interests. There is also a kitchen that is well stocked. Strange thing is that everything except the food looks like it's been here for ages. Almost as if the builder knew that we would be coming." Wufei frowned. It looked good on him, considering that it was his normal expression, "I don't like this. It's too convenient, too well planned."

"Yeah, but at least there's food!"

"And an underground storage slash work facility." Hiiro arrived, presumably from said facility, "It's large enough to hold five Gundams and there are enough spare parts to keep our suits running forever."

"That only makes me feel worse about this," said Wufei with an intense expression, eyebrows knitted together, "She obviously only wants us for our Gundams."

"No."

The three turned to Quatre, whose answer had been quiet but forceful. Hiiro and Wufei exchanged a glance while Duo tilted his head to the side.

"Whaddya mean?"

"I mean that she isn't our enemy, and she doesn't just want us because we're Gundam pilots. I feel it from her; she cares about us. She's doing this to save us from something that she's seen. And she'll bring us help. I know. I can feel it. And . . . Wing Zero showed it to me."

This time all three of the pilots exchanged one large glance at Quatre's cryptic statement. Wing Zero showed it to him? What was Wing Zero, and what had it shown him? But Quatre fell silent, and the sorrow lay like a thick blanket over his slightly chubby, childish face. Silence pervaded the small area as three boys wondered to themselves whether their companion was crazy or not, and the fourth thought only of the recent past.

None of them could know that at that moment a woman with green-black hair and maroon eyes was walking amongst clowns, tigers, and acrobats. They could not know that her efforts would save them from a future none of them wanted. Their minds could not grasp the effect her actions had on their lives, and could not predict the effect that one person, one girl-soldier, would have on their hearts.

End Chapter Two


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Three**  
by Sailorcelestial

The girl called him Trowa. She said that she was his sister, that he belonged with her in the circus, and his name was Trowa. He didn't know whether she was right or not. The name meant nothing to him. It was merely something to call himself so that he wouldn't be Nanashi: No Name. Yet . . . somehow Nanashi sounded right. More so than Trowa. The girl, Katherine was her own name, was kind and loving but there was a fierceness to her love that almost frightened him.

The boy called Trowa paused for a moment to remember that night nearly a week ago. It had been raining, and he'd been cold and wet and confused. She'd called him by that name, speaking to him cheerfully, not realizing that he didn't know her. He didn't even know himself. When at last she'd discovered his amnesia she took him home with her to the circus. Everyone here knew him as Trowa, so he had to believe that he'd been here before.

"Katherine," he called, walking from the tent with clown costume in hand.

"Yes, Trowa?" Her voice was odd: sharper, angry. Trowa recognized the voice she used when protecting him. He stepped from the tent to look on at his sister and the person she was speaking to.

He saw a tall woman with a long cascade of green black hair and dark skin. When she saw him she smiled, and her maroon eyes flashed in a manner that made him want to move away from her. She wasn't normal; he knew that much. She was something so much more than normal.

"Trowa Barton," she said and took a step towards him. Katherine moved in front of her to block her way.

"Stop it! He's been through enough! He doesn't need you coming here and taking him into more danger, and I won't let you do it!" Katherine glared angrily at the stranger, who didn't even look at her, but straight at Trowa. He stared into those maroon eyes and knew beyond a doubt that this woman was not here to harm him. Not only that, but if she planned to take him away then he would go. He had to. "Did you hear me?!?"

Trowa blinked when Katherine's voice interrupted his reverie. Looking again at the stranger he saw nothing special about her. Her pale blue dress pants and lavender blouse were both quite ordinary, as were her maroon-black shoes. She gave a large smile and extended a hand towards him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Trowa."

"I . . . um . . ." he stopped, unable to complete the thought and angry because of it. A feeling of inadequacy fell over him and the sense that he had never been at a loss of words before. He should have known what to say. He always knew what to say. So he lifted his hand to take hers in amends for being so verbally clumsy and was aware of Katherine's steely eyes on him.

"If it would be alright, I would like to speak to you alone—"

"No!" Trowa's sister, who was tall but not quite as tall as this stranger, charged forward and batted the woman's hand from his in fury. "I know that if you talk to him you'll try to convince him to leave! He shouldn't go anywhere, he needs to stay right here! Hasn't he suffered enough for one so young? Isn't he in enough pain as it is?"

Observing the stranger, Trowa saw anger and annoyance spark in her maroon eyes. She wanted to do something. There was some act that she wanted to do that would affect Katherine. But she stopped herself, as he saw in the taming of that spark.

"I'm sorry," he began in a voice that he wasn't certain was really his, for it sounded too emotional, "but you've upset my sister. I won't speak with you."

_But I will . . ._

Somehow he knew that no matter how much Katherine raged, and how he might try to pacify her by saying he wouldn't go . . . he would. He would speak with this woman and where ever she wanted to take him he would go. He had nothing to lose. The circus was quiet and safe, but there was nothing to learn here. He loved Katherine, but she was not enough. He needed to know who he truly was, what had happened to him, and why he felt himself drawn to something that was far away from himself. This woman could tell him, or take him to a place where he would know.

Trowa turned away from her, but not before he saw the knowing glitter in her maroon orbs. She knew just as well as he did that this would not be their last meeting.

* * *

Quatre's eyes were dull as he stared through the dirty window. Surrounding him, placed on the walls, were photographs of the various skylines and landscapes of Earth. Not long ago he had found them all so beautiful, so intriguing. Whoever had built this base had known that, for these things were here when he arrived, along with the intricately decorated teacups that he so loved to drink from. He paid them no mind, however, merely watched the horizon outside as if any moment he might be able to see the silhouette of a tall boy walking towards the base. At that thought new tears sprang into his eyes and he lowered his head to nestle in his crossed arms.

Duo, who stood just outside the slightly opened door, frowned and backed away silently. He knew something was wrong with Quatre, but the boy had refused to speak to anyone for the past week. The young Winner sat and stared and ate when he really had to then sat and stared some more.

_Come on, Quatre, what is it? Why won't you talk at least to me?_

Out of the four boys, two groups had formed. Hiiro and Wufei were more concerned about seeing what they could get from this place before the woman came, because they were convinced that once that happened they would have to run or kill her or both. Duo and Quatre were less concerned with the woman and more concerned with trying to form friendships, or at least shaky alliances, with their fellow pilots. Well . . . Quatre would be if he weren't so depressed.

Duo sighed and scratched his head, trying to decide what he needed to do about his sullen companion. He had a feeling that if a fight should break out between the four of them it would be the other two against him and the blonde. They were just too stoic and battle driven. Duo liked a good battle himself, but only when it was necessary. He felt that the Gundam pilots really were fighting to obtain peace and that they needed to band together, not separate according to which people thought alike.

Quietly, so as not to disturb Quatre and whatever thoughts he may have been contemplating, Duo walked away from the doorway and into his own room.

Inside were bookshelves filled with books of mythology, and even a Bible. He knew that most people wouldn't consider him the literary type, and normally he wasn't. But mythology had always interested him. He was, after all, Shinigami, God of Death. Somehow the builder had known about this interest. But what really disturbed him was that the person had also known about his past, or the Bible would not have been there.

Gently he ran a hand down the selection of books, his finger lingering on the black bound book of the Christian faith.

_Father . . . Sister Helen . . . you tried so very hard to make me believe in your God of mercy and love. Where was He when you were killed?_

He remembered only one of the Bible verses they had taught him so many years ago. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

_Everlasting life my ass._

Duo smirked and pulled out the book of Greek myths, leaving the Bible neglected on the shelf.

* * *

Setsuna waited with crossed arms outside of the circus tent. She debated with herself whether to wait for him in her civilian clothing, or to transform and greet Trowa as Sailorpluto. In normal dress she wouldn't unnerve him as much as she might in her fuku, but as Sailorpluto she at least would not have to give him her real name. She sighed and tilted her head upwards, fully expecting to see a sky full of stars. Instead there was only the cold steel ceiling of the colony, its lights dimmed to simulate nighttime. She sighed. Such a sight was depressing. How did these people live without ever seeing the stars?

"You're here."

Setsuna turned, a small gasp issuing from her throat. Trowa was standing there, and she had not heard him approach. His natural feline silence was one thing that had not been lost with his memories.

"Yes," she replied simply, turning to face him completely. Over his shoulder was a pack, apparently filled with things needed for travel.

"I know that you've come to take me away from here. Katherine won't be happy, but I have to go with you. You know who I really am, don't you?"

"Yes, I know."

"Will you tell me?"

"No. Not yet."

"Then we should get going."

Setsuna nodded and turned away. She walked and he followed. It was going to be a long, silent trip.

* * *

Usagi watched the television intently as the news crew attempted to get closer to the fight. For the past ten minutes she had been glued to the television, watching her friends and her love battle the youma on their own. At first the Senshi had been winning, but then the youma got the upper hand. Every few minutes the tide would turn and one side or the other would seem to be victorious only to be caught off guard. This uncertainty was driving Usagi crazy with fear and worry.

"Usagi, when did you become so interested in the news?" asked her mother as she sat down. The older woman smiled good-naturedly at her daughter, completely oblivious to the worry in the girl's blue eyes.

"Huh? Oh . . . I . . . I'm not. It's just that this is the Sailor Senshi. And look," she pointed to the screen in an attempt to draw her mother's attention away from the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes, "Sailormoon isn't with them."

"She isn't?" Ikuko turned her curious gaze to the television and looked on in quiet confusion, giving Usagi time to think.

A week had passed since her abdicating of her position as Sailormoon. A week in which the Senshi had fought three battles, this one being the third, without her. The previous two had been closer than Usagi would have liked, ending with Sailorvenus nearly breaking an arm. This one looked no better. Oh, what had she been thinking? What on Earth or the Moon had caused her to utter those words? Oddly enough she didn't remember now.

"Look, it's over," said her mother, and Usagi broke from her thoughts to sigh in relief. The Senshi had won. Sailorvenus was holding her still tender arm and Tuxedokamen was limping but they were all alive and that was all that Usagi cared about.

"This is the third battle in a week that you've fought without Sailormoon," shouted one of the reporters, shoving a microphone into Sailormars' face, "Is there any truth to the rumor that Sailormoon is no longer fighting?"

"No," replied Mars, her teeth clenched, "Rumors are rarely true, and the media would do well to remember that!" Tuxedokamen stepped forward and put an arm out before Sailormars to keep her from punching the reporter.

"Sailormoon is taking a much needed rest," he spoke into the mikes, "until she is ready again for battle the rest of the Senshi and I will protect Tokyo. That's all." With that statement he and the four girls walked away, ignoring the probing questions that were being thrown at them.

Usagi sighed and flopped back onto the couch, emotionally exhausted from the strain of watching her friends fight without her.

"Usagi, are you alright?" She glanced up to see her mother looking at her with worried eyes. With much effort Usagi sat up and put on her usual smile.

"Yup, mom, I'm fine! Completely and totally fine, nothing at all wrong with me! I think I'll go to Rei-chan's for a while. BYYYIIIIEEEE!!"

"Good—" Ikuko was cut off as her daughter dashed from the couch and out the door.

_I'm sorry guys,_ Usagi thought as she darted down the street, _I don't know why I'm doing this anymore . . . all I know is that I have to do this._

* * *

"Dammit, where the hell is she?"

Hiiro didn't even glance up from his laptop as Duo stormed into the room, braid swishing behind him as he stomped. Duo angrily kicked one of the tall bookshelves that lined three of the walls in the large living room. There was also a fireplace, but he had already kicked a brick and found that it was not a pleasant sensation. The wood was a bit softer, but not by much. He cursed loudly as his toe throbbed.

"It's been a week," he continued, "and she hasn't come back! She told us she'd be here and she'd bring help!"

"It was a lie," Hiiro commented, still tapping away on the keys, "She's not coming."

"I don't think so, Hiiro. If it were a lie, why would she bother to free us? It would be a complete waste of her time to break Wufei and I out of Lunar Base and bring you and Quatre here if she doesn't have some sort of plan for us."

Hiiro paused, then looked up at Duo with an eyebrow raised, as if surprised that the long haired boy could come up with such a logical and well thought out statement. Then the moment passed as without further comment Hiiro dipped his head again and focused on the laptop. Duo sighed.

Wufei appeared suddenly in the doorway, arms crossed, mouth formed into that ever- familiar frown they all had become accustomed to. He was unhappy about something.

"I just discovered a sixth bedroom."

"Oh?" Duo asked, not even attempting to feign interest in anything other than his throbbing toe.

"It's in another part of the base than ours, that's why I didn't find it before."

"So? What's the big deal? It's probably for that woman; she most likely will stay here with us."

"I don't think so," Wufei grumbled, "she doesn't seem like fuzzy white bunnies and pink sheets type to me."

Duo blinked when he realized what the boy said, and then lifted his head. Hiiro also stared at Wufei in a stoic sort of disbelief. Fuzzy white bunnies and pink sheets? Duo glanced to Hiiro, who in turn passed the look on to Wufei, and he merely shrugged.

In a few moments the three of them, thanks to Duo's insistence, were standing outside of the bedroom. This was the most well kept of the six, and it was unquestionably a room for a young girl, probably around the age of seven or eight from the looks of it, possibly even as old as ten. But no self-respecting teenage girl would like a room that looked like it had been drenched in Pepto Bismal. At least Duo hoped not. Hiiro stood in the center of the floor, indifferent eyes taking in all of the girly details.

"It's a room for a girl," he finally declared. Duo groaned.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," he commented sarcastically, "Of course it's a room for a girl! Unless you wear pink pajamas to bed, Hiiro." Duo gestured towards said pink pajamas which rested comfortably on the edge of the bed as if waiting patiently for their owner. Hiiro looked as if a scowl were attempting to curl his lips. Duo grinned. "Hey, maybe she's gonna bring Relena here!"

Hiiro stopped dead at the mention of Relena Darlian/Peacecraft. Duo swore later that the boy even paled by a couple of shades. Either way there was a flash of something akin to fear in Hiiro's eyes, and bordering on another emotion. Remembering how it had been Relena's voice that stopped Hiiro's attempted suicide at the Alliance military hospital, Duo was suddenly sorry that he had brought her name into the conversation. He didn't know what went on between those two, but whatever it was it was strong, and secret.

"I don't think this is Relena's style either," Hiiro finally said. His voice was as monotone and apathetic as usual, but there was the sense that this time he had to fight to maintain that unemotional tone. Another moment passed where he seemed to be staring past the objects in the room and into a memory, but soon it was gone and Hiiro proceeded out of the room without another word.

"Who is Relena?" Wufei inquired.

"Don't ask, my friend, just don't ask."

* * *

Usagi stopped when she reached the doorway of Rei's bedroom and peered inside. Her friends sat within nursing wounds and talking about battle strategies and how best to catch the enemy next time. Her blue eyes filled with tears at the sight and she fought down a guilty sob.

"Usagi-chan!" Ami waved, seeing her friend and princess standing in the door, "Come inside, Mako-chan brought cookies earlier."

"Yeah," Makoto grinned and flushed, "They're a new experiment of mine, so they might not taste as good as usual."

"What are you talking about?" Minako asked, stuffing a cookie in her mouth even as Ami rebandaged her arm, "They're great!"

"How would we know?" Rei asked grumpily, whacking Minako on the back of the head with a random manga, "You've eaten almost all of them!"

Usagi said nothing, grateful and guilty at the same time that they were trying to act normal for her benefit, so she wouldn't feel responsible for their near defeat.

"Come on in, Usako," Mamoru smiled gently at her and motioned for her to sit beside him. Usagi took a few steps inside before she fell to her knees and released the sobs that had been fighting their way up since she left her home. Immediately two sets of arms went around her: Mamoru's and Rei's.

"Usagi!"

"Usako!"

Usagi tried to speak, to tell them she knew it was all her fault, that she shouldn't have been so rash, and she would fight with them next time. No words came out, however. She could not tell them what she wanted to. It was as if some force had reached into her throat and tightened its hand to prevent her speech. All that she managed to say was a choked, "Gomen nasai." For a long five minutes there was silence in the group as all took a turn at comforting their princess. But none really knew what to say, for her grief was obviously over their injuries, and her guilt, but she would say nothing. She would not take back her words and be their leader again. She would not fight. How could they comfort her when she would not do what they all felt she needed to do?

At long last Usagi stood on shaking legs and turned away from them, running from the temple. All shot about a look that said 'Leave her alone, she needs time to think.'

Outside it was misting pleasantly, just enough rain to make the day seem mysterious but not dismal. The concrete was not even completely covered yet as Usagi ran over the grey surface. Tears trailed the expanse of her cheeks, but still she found she could not say the words she wanted out loud, even though she was far from her friends. She ran with her head down, eyes closed to fight back the tears.

Inevitably, she ran into someone. The force of the impact knocked her back and to the ground. She mumbled her apologies under her breath, not looking up to see who she was speaking to.

"It's alright, Usako."

Her breath caught instantly in her throat at the voice. She knew it, and she knew the nickname, but Mamoru was in the temple in the other direction. This person could not be Mamoru, yet it sounded like him and not only had he known her name, but the name that only Mamoru called her. Slowly she lifted her eyes to take in first the man's sneakers, then his blue jeans, then his deep, royal purple dress shirt. At last her eyes found his face and she gasped.

It was indeed Mamoru, only older and world wizened. The face she so loved looked back on her with the familiar kindness from eyes that had seen much, much more than her Mamoru could ever have imagined.

"NeoKing Endymion . . ."

He nodded, a small, amused smile curling his lips upward. Silently he bent down and offered her a hand. Equally silent, Usagi took the hand and allowed him to help her up. They stood there a moment, neither of them speaking, until both spoke at the same time.

"What are you—"

"It's good to—"

They stopped again, and Endymion motioned for her to speak first.

"What are you doing here?"

"Setsuna sent me," he answered, and she noticed the tint of purple in his once black hair. She wondered to herself if she would ever get used to that when her own Mamoru's hair changed. He seemed to follow her gaze, for he gave a small laugh.

"It took me awhile to get used to Serenity's silver hair," he said in a round about answer to her unspoken question. She smiled, then stood up straight.

"Why did Setsuna send you here? Why didn't she come herself?"

He sighed and gestured for her to follow him as he turned away and began walking. Usagi paused, then nearly hopped forward in order to catch up with the older man.

"Setsuna is . . . busy . . . with other things. She will need you soon, but she cannot come to get you herself. She thought that sending your future self would be not only too awkward, but too dangerous. She's afraid that Serenity will talk too much about the events that will take place. So she asked me to come and take you to Crystal Tokyo to wait for her."

"You don't know about what's going to happen?"

"I know. You—Serenity—told me about them long ago. Setsuna just trusts me not to tell you about them."

"Oh."

The two walked on a while in silence. Endymion apparently knew, perhaps warned by his wife, that her questions were not over, for he didn't suggest that they leave quite yet. Usagi tilted her head back and looked up into the sky before asking her next carefully formulated question.

"I'm not staying in Crystal Tokyo, am I?"

Endymion blinked and looked down at her, as if shocked that she was capable of forming such a coherent and sensible question. Or perhaps he was surprised that she knew the truth.

"No, you aren't. You'll be waiting there until Setsuna comes to take you to your final destination."

"She sent you from Crystal Tokyo instead of the actual time she needs me in so that I won't learn too much about my future." Usagi grinned as Endymion stared at her in speechless, stunned silence. She acted as if she were buffing her nails on her shirt with a confident expression. His shock melted away into laughter as he nodded.

"True. You know more about Setsuna than she thinks. She'll have to be careful or you may learn all of her secrets."

"Who says I don't?" she asked with a smirk. Endymion laughed again and the setting sun glanced off of his hair, turning it even more purple than before. Usagi decided that she could get to like the hair if she had to.

"Well, Usako, it's time to go."

"I figured as much," she sighed as Endymion brought out the little golden time key and her world fell out from beneath her.

* * *

Hiiro stared at the flashing screen. There were words there, instructions, news, junk mail, he didn't know. He didn't see the words. He saw kind sea blue eyes smiling at him and silken shining hair that was so light a brown to almost be blonde.

_Hiiro . . ._

Her voice invaded his thoughts without permission, blocking out all conviction he had to do what he knew he must. He had to kill her, that was obvious. She knew too much about him and his mission.

His mission.

Hiiro frowned.

What _was_ his mission now? OZ was in control in space and in almost all places on Earth, save for Sanch Kingdom. That was why this base was safe from OZ. It was so close to Sanch and so buried in forest that it would never be discovered unless someone had knowledge of its existence. So the four pilots waited not so complacently for their mysterious benefactor to decide her presence was necessary and finally show up. They waited, missionless.

It made Hiiro uneasy.

Without a specific task, a purpose, Hiiro didn't know what to do with himself. Since childhood he'd always known what his purpose was, he'd always had something to do, to occupy his mind, to keep himself from feeling the full extent of the emotions he claimed were so important. Now, he had nothing. Only the laptop, which gave him only thin comfort in its electronic depths. It had nothing to give him in the way of direction or duty. It had no lips with which to speak, or ears to hear his complaints, or arms to wrap around him in solace . . .

He snapped the laptop shut with a suddenness that frightened even himself. What was he thinking? Wanting someone to talk to, to listen, to hug? Those thoughts were silly and without purpose. Hiiro would have sighed if it were within his power. Instead he merely rose from his seat and walked over to the door, taking a step into the main hallway.

There was no warning.

Quatre shot past the doorway, nearly knocking Hiiro over on his way out. Behind the blonde boy ran Duo, who looked as puzzled as Hiiro felt. Not far after was Wufei, whose face was locked into that serious expression that Hiiro appreciated. One could only stand so much of Duo's cheerfulness, after all, without another sedate person around to balance things out.

"What's happened," he asked Wufei as he fell into line behind the dark haired boy.

"I don't really know. Quatre suddenly ran from his room exclaiming something about Trowa."

Hiiro lifted an eyebrow in what for him translated as shock. Trowa? The tall boy who'd been hiding in OZ? The one whom Quatre had killed? Of course Hiiro had known the entire time what was bothering Quatre. He might have told Duo, had the braided one asked. Then again, maybe he wouldn't have. He did like to see Duo annoyed.

Outside Duo, Wufei, and Hiiro successively stopped as Quatre halted, staring into the distance. At first there was nothing to be seen and Hiiro wondered if the boy's imagination might have been playing tricks on his tired mind.

"TROWA!" Quatre exclaimed, thrusting a hand into the air in an exultant wave. Tears pooled on his bottom eyelids, quivering as they prepared to fall. Hiiro turned his own gaze to the horizon, where just then a figure appeared walking towards them. Then another frame followed it, this one taller with long hair. He knew who that one was, though he kept silent about that knowledge.

Duo reached forward to try and stop Quatre, but the blonde moved too quickly and was too determined. He launched towards the two people, the other three following close behind. It took only a few moments for them to reach their guests, and Quatre immediately threw his arms around Trowa's waist and hugged the tall boy, sobbing into the dark sweater.

"I thought I'd killed you! I'm sorry, Trowa! I'm so sorry!"

Trowa was quiet for a moment, looking down at the weeping younger boy. He didn't raise his arms to wrap them about Quatre, or offer any sort of consolation. Hiiro was about to speak when Trowa looked up at the woman who they all recognized as the woman who'd sent them here, and spoke.

"Who is he? Do I know him?"

Quatre's slowing, hiccuping sobs were the only thing that broke the silence that followed. Gradually Quatre's thin arms fell from around Trowa and he backed up, wide, hurting blue eyes staring into the tall boy's face.

"What? Trowa?"

"Yes, Trowa," the woman answered the long passed question, "you know him. This is Quatre. You met him not long ago. Don't worry, you'll remember soon enough." She turned to the waiting four, "Trowa lost his memories in the explosion of the Va8. It's only temporary, but he will need your help for a while. Especially you, Quatre," she smiled kindly, "You've got to be strong for him." Quatre nodded, not even noticing the condescending tone she was using, as if he were a small boy she must make understand a complicated issue. His eyes, now overflowing with tears, were locked on the confused Trowa, who stared at the four of them from beneath his reddish-brown bangs. The woman gently pushed him forward, towards his fellow pilots. The five tossed glances about the group, and it felt once more as if they were all meeting for the first time. The group dynamics had just been changed and none of them could say that they really liked the feeling. Except for perhaps Quatre. "Will you be staying?" Wufei asked, doubtless with the sixth room in mind. "No," she answered, and Wufei glanced in Hiiro's direction, "I must go and find the last person who will join you. It will be another week or so before I'll be able to return. Until then I suggest you five get to know each other well. You will be counting on each other more than you ever dreamed you'd rely on anyone." Quatre nodded again, this time with a bright smile on his young face. He grabbed Trowa by the hand and led the boy towards the base. Duo shrugged towards Wufei and Hiiro, then turned and followed, beginning to chatter about something or another. Hiiro stepped forward. "What are you planning for us?" The woman paused then sighed. Her maroon eyes, burdened with a sadness centuries older than she could possibly be, unnerved him. "I plan nothing for you except a future, Hiiro." With that cryptic answer she turned and walked away, her long hair swishing behind her. Hiiro looked to Wufei and the two shared in that moment the same thought.

_I don't like this._

End Chapter Three


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Four**  
by Sailorcelestial

Usagi knitted her eyebrows in puzzlement. Crystal Tokyo looked as if in the middle of being rebuilt. She had assumed that she would be taken to a peaceful time of Crystal Tokyo further in the future than the last time they visited. Apparently that assumption was very wrong. She turned to Endymion to see that his civilian clothing was gone, replaced by the light violet tuxedo that marked him as the king of this kingdom. In his hand he held the scepter that matched NeoQueen Serenity's eternal tier scepter.

"Why are we here?" she asked him, "Why did you bring me to this time?"

"You'll have to ask Setsuna-san that," he replied, a smile creeping onto his face as he looked ahead, "she's the one who came to me in this time." Usagi followed his gaze and saw herself, Serenity, standing in the doorway of Crystal Keep. Usagi felt the oddest sense of déjà vu when she studied the woman, seeing so much of herself in the older visage. Endymion stepped forward and into the arms of his wife and they shared a tight embrace, as if they had been separated an eternity.

"Usagi-chan no baka!"

She was knocked down by a pink blur that shot out from behind Serenity. This blur had flashing crimson eyes and a shrill, child-like voice.

"Chibiusa-chan!" Usagi giggled as the child threw her stubby little arms about her neck.

"It's been a whole month since we defeated the Death Phantom! What have you done without me? Hey, you look older than I remember!" Chibiusa leaned back, studying the younger version of her mother intently.

"It's been two years since then, in the time that I come from," Usagi smiled.

"We've actually been thinking about sending Small Lady back into the past," Serenity said lovingly, looking down on her daughter and past self, "For training and . . . social interaction." The last was said with a special emphasis, and Usagi understood. When they sent Chibiusa back in time she met – or would meet- the girl Tomoe Hotaru and set in motion an important chain of events.

"I can't wait to go!" Chibiusa exclaimed excitedly, then catching herself, folded her arms and stuck her nose in the air, "But not to see you! I want more of Mako-chan's cookies!"

Laughter was shared about the group as Chibiusa looked on in ignorant confusion. All but the child knew how much she and Usagi would come to care for each other and depend on each other. Then Endymion and Serenity led her inside to wait for Setsuna and whatever destiny the Guardian might bring with her.

* * *

In the limbo of the realms between Times, Setsuna sighed and set her Time Staff beside the Gate. She was exhausted from her efforts. Finally, all five Gundam pilots were safe on Earth, for the time being at least. All that was left was to bring Usagi into the game.

Setsuna frowned.

She knew that Usagi had been hiding a secret from her friends and even Mamoru. It was this secret that caused Setsuna to choose this particular version of Tsukino Usagi over any other. It was to be a valuable commodity in the coming battles, but Setsuna worried that Usagi would hesitate to reveal this secret even to her. She did not want to pry the mystery from the girl, even though she already knew what it was; she wanted Usagi to tell her on her own. When the princess managed that step of trust, then the real tests and battles could begin.

She opened a small seeing portal on the base outside of Sanch Kingdom. There she beheld a sight that saddened her.

Hiiro sat silently in the living room, staring at his laptop screen. Duo was in his room, pretending to read a book of Roman mythology while he pointedly ignored the Bible. Wufei was in his own room meditating quietly. Only Quatre and Trowa were together. The blonde boy was showing his taller companion around, talking in a tone of relief. Trowa, for the most part, seemed to be enjoying Quatre's company, even if in the manner of the confused. It seemed that the only hope were these two boys. Setsuna prayed that Usagi would be able to join all five of them together.

Only one way to find out.

* * *

Usagi was awakened with a jolt by a hard object prodding her in the back. She sat up quickly, yawning.

"Whaaaaaaaaat?" she grumbled sleepily.

"It's time to go, Usagi-chan."

Usagi straightened.

"Setsuna-san?"

"Hai, now get up and get dressed. Quickly!" Setsuna spoke from the darkness, urgency lacing her stern voice. Usagi nodded dumbly and rose, rushing over to the dresser the best she could in the dark. She paused a moment, then decided that it didn't matter whether she changed in front of Setsuna. It was dark, and Setsuna wasn't interested in that anyway. Years of practice getting dressed quickly paid off, for she was ready in less than thirty seconds.

"Shouldn't we tell the king and queen?"

"They will know. Don't forget, she is you. She's lived this and knows exactly when you're leaving, where you're going, and what will happen to you."

"Oh, yeah. Well at least I know I'm gonna live through this!" Usagi gave a nervous laugh, which trailed off when Setsuna didn't respond.

"I've told you many times, Usagi-chan, the future is never set in stone."

Usagi gulped.

* * *

_The princess stared down at the ruins of her once beautiful kingdom. Tears filled her iridescent blue eyes as she realized that her entire life had been destroyed in a matter of moments. All of her friends were dead; so was her love. She felt the angry eyes of the prince's four royal guards fixed on her even as she sobbed her own grief. They blamed her for his death; she knew they did. She only vaguely saw the silver-white pools of her hair that lay across the body of her slain prince. All she could see were the dull holes of dark blue that once were so alive, and the paling death-grey of his skin. The wound still bled; the pool of black-red blood that marked his fall was steadily growing larger, even though he had long passed beyond needing it for life._

"_Endymion . . ."_

_Her voice was quiet, a strangled bird that tried to fight itself free of her throat. Behind her lay the body of Endymion's murderer, whom the princess's main protector had cut down before the four of them were killed. But she cared not for that carcass. It meant nothing to her._

"_Endymion . . ." this time the word was louder, clearer, as the only course of action became apparent to her. She let her slender white hand caress his pale cheek for only a moment, and then lowered it to his still sheathed sword. Her hesitation lasted a second at most, then she jerked the sword free of its earthly sheath. One last look at his body, and she turned the blade in on herself._

"_SERENITY!"_

_The voice of her mother calling her name. It was enough to make her pause again, but not enough to stop the grieving princess._

"_I'm sorry, Mother," she murmured, then braced herself for the final act . . ._

* * *

At the moment the princess drove her dead fiancée's sword into her own body, Quatre shot straight up in bed. His blue eyes were wide, as if he had seen the suicide with them and not his mind's eye. For a moment he looked about the room, not quite certain where exactly he was. When the memory came back to him of the base he and the other pilots shared, Quatre released a sigh and lifted a hand to his forehead. Sweat soaked his skin and his hair clung to his damp forehead.

"Serenity . . . Endymion . . ." he rolled the uncomfortable names around his mouth and let them spill from his lips. What an odd dream, with such strange names. He didn't recall any incident in history that he might have taken the scene from, although that must have been what happened. His mind simply could not create such a dream episode from nothing. Could it?

Quatre tossed the blankets back and rose, moving over to the window. He looked out and up, into the night sky where the moon hung bright and serenely against the velvet black. For no reason that he could comprehend, the sight filled him with a powerful sense of sorrow and loss. To him the moon should have meant nothing more than a place to go, an OZ base to destroy. But from Earth, with the clouds hanging in the sky beside it, a soft glow paintbrushed out from its edges, the moon was the most divinely beautiful thing he had ever laid his mortal eyes on. Tears spontaneously swelled from his eyes, threatening to spill before he wiped them away.

With a sudden restlessness moving his heart, Quatre turned and walked silently out of his room down the hall and knocked on Duo's door.

"Yeah?"

He opened the door and peered inside.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you . . ."

"Nah, just doing some reading." Duo held up one of the mythology books that lined his bookshelves. Quatre stepped inside and closed the door.

"I just wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"Well . . . who is the goddess of the moon?"

"Huh?" Duo lifted a chestnut eyebrow at the question, quite unexpected, "Where'd you come up with a question like that, huh Quatre?"

"Oh . . . um . . . I don't know. I was just curious."

Duo glanced at him askance again, then sighed and motioned to the shelves.

"Depends on what culture you mean. Every ancient culture had its own moon deity. Some even had several. Isis was one of them in ancient Egypt. There was Diana in Rome, Artemis and Hecate were the newer moon goddesses of ancient Greece, but before them there was Selene—"

"What?" Quatre stopped his friend, "What was the last one?"

"Selene. She was the older moon goddess of Greece." Quatre sat down on the floor in front of Duo, his eyes glued onto the braided boy.

"Tell me more about her."

"Well . . . there's one story about Selene where she fell in love with a human shepherd. It's said that she was so in love with this human that she forgot her duties as the moon goddess, so Zeus, the king of the gods, decided that something had to be done. So he offered the shepherd two choices: to either die, or spend the rest of eternity in a deep sleep."

"What did he choose?" Quatre asked, held rapt by the myth of the moon goddess and the Earth man.

"To sleep of course! What idiot would choose to die? Anyway, the myth says that the shepherd still sleeps somewhere in a cave on Earth, where Selene visits him every month. That's the origin of the new moon, the time when the moon can't be seen. It's because Selene is visiting her love."

"This shepherd . . . did he have a name?"

"Yeah, let me see . . ." Duo plucked the proper book from the shelf and flipped through it until he came to the right page, "Endymion. His name was Endymion."

Quatre was silent. _Endymion . . ._ It was simply too much of a coincidence. To hear a name similar to that of the princess in his dream, and then the exact name of the prince, both in connection with the moon that moved him to tears had to be significant.

"Quatre, you okay?"

"Duo, is there any mention of why the other goddesses took Selene's place?"

Duo shrugged.

"Not really. It's possible that the Greeks created Artemis and Hecate, or gave them Selene's place, just to satisfy a question about nature that they couldn't answer otherwise. There may be no other reason than that."

"Is it . . . possible . . ." Quatre slowed, forming his question carefully before continuing, "Is it possible that Selene died? From the loss of Endymion?"

"I guess so," Duo paused, considering, "Most cultures made their gods immortal, able to be killed by only certain people, things, or animals. The Norse gods were different, immortal only so long as they weren't killed. But as far as I know the only Greek god who was ever killed was Pan."

"Oh . . ." Quatre fell into silence, attempting to work out this incongruent detail.

"Is there any point to all of this?" Duo asked, sliding the book back into place.

"Not really," Quatre replied, standing up and giving a small smile, "I was just curious. Thanks, Duo."

"No problem."

The blonde boy turned and walked to the door, but before leaving he paused and decided to speak.

"Duo . . . if you pray to any deities at all, pray to Selene. I think that she's watching over us, and of all the gods she's most likely to answer."

* * *

Usagi stood before the great white doors of the Time Gate for the second time in her most recent lifetime. They hadn't changed at all, but she got the impression from Setsuna's ever-static personality that not much ever changed in this place.

"You remember how to travel the Time warp, don't you, Usagi-chan?" Setsuna was saying.

"Yes, I remember. I have to hold your hand and focus on my destination the entire time, otherwise I could get lost anywhere in Time and Space." Usagi paused, then giggled nervously, "Oh yeah, what IS my destination anyway?"

"You wouldn't recognize the date," Setsuna replied cryptically, "Just know that it's three thousand years after Crystal Tokyo."

_Three thousand . . . that means it's four thousand years from my time!!_

"Wow," she said aloud, linking her hand with the older woman's. She watched as Setsuna tapped the end of her Time Staff against the floor and the Gate opened wide. Before them stretched the oddly colored expanse of the Time warp, also no different than that day two years ago when the Senshi traveled to Crystal Tokyo.

"Ready?"

Usagi nodded silently as Setsuna stepped forward, pulling her along.

The sudden sense of vertigo was no easier to cope with this second time around. Colors, mostly red, orange, and violet, washed around her in a myriad of tie-dyed designs. Immediately Usagi felt sick. She felt the gentle squeeze of Setsuna's hand, an encouraging gesture. Then the Guardian began to speak.

"This is something very important, Usagi-chan. I'm not exactly the Setsuna you know, and when you are finally returned to your own time, you must never mention this to me. I'm the Setsuna from four thousand years in your future. That is the present for me, and I'm bringing you from my past. Do you understand?" Usagi gave a slow nod, letting this information sink in.

"This future is vastly different than anything you may have imagined when you first saw Crystal Tokyo. The magic that you and the Senshi brought into the world is all but vanished. Science and technology rule here, mostly in the form of military weapons," Setsuna frowned, and the expression revealed only a speckled view of her true age, "There is a war in this time, Usagi-chan. It's a war between an organization called OZ, which controls nearly everything now, and five boys who pilot machines called Gundams. Don't worry that you don't know anything about this future, you'll learn very quickly, I'm certain."

"But how am I supposed to do any good when I don't even know what a Gundam looks like, let alone what it does?"

"Don't ask questions, Usagi-chan!" Setsuna's voice was laced with an uncharacteristic desperation that silenced the inquisitive girl, "I'm bringing you here to help these five Gundam pilots. Their names are Hiiro, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei. All of them are important but pay special attention to Hiiro. He's the most vital person in this point of the Timeline.

"And Usagi-chan, remember this above all things: All five of these boys, no matter how kind they may seem, are trained killers. Two of them were raised since childhood knowing how to fight and kill and the other three were quick studies. They are kind underneath, but all are very dangerous. Until you know for certain that you have gained their trust, and that they deserve yours, never turn you back on them."

Usagi stared ahead into the Time warp, considering the words of the Guardian as they continued. Five boys, all trained killers, and she was supposed to help them somehow? Had Setsuna gone completely crazy?

"We're almost there," Setsuna gestured ahead with the hand that held her Time Staff, "there's the door—" She was cut off as an unexpected wind buffeted the two of them. Usagi felt her hand slipping from Setsuna's grasp and tightened her hold franticly, trying to keep at least the older woman' fingers in hold. But the wind was so strong, and her hair whipped at her face violently, blocking her view. She couldn't even see Setsuna anymore through the wild strands of gold.

Then, without warning, her hand was empty.

"SETSUNA!!"

If there was an answer it could not be heard for the wind.

Usagi tumbled through the air, confused, disoriented; she couldn't tell which way was up and which was down. Now she fully understood why the Time Guardian insisted that they hold hands . . . this was a thousand times worse than when the youma had trapped them within the Warp. She had no choice in her destination now, only a sinking hope that she might not be killed in the journey.

_Minna . . . Mamo-chan . . . gomen nasai . . ._

Then the tumbling ceased.

Usagi lowered her arms, which had been crossed before her face, and took a look at her surroundings. She was inside a building, the walls made out of a dull grey material. They were smooth, with no shelves or anything projecting from them. The walls were quite boring actually. The space stretched out long before her and behind her. She was in a hallway.

Usagi slowly pushed herself to her feet and smoothed out her blue school skirt, then tried to press down her hair. She found that her buns were in disarray, nearly completely undone. She sighed, but left them as they were. It might look horrible, but at least she wouldn't be tripping over her hair like she would if it were down. Maybe she could find a bathroom or somewhere with a mirror.

Her shoes made hesitant clicks on the metal floor as she walked, as if they too were unsure of this place. She could find no doors, only continuing hallways that looped in and on each other. This place was a maze, and if she weren't careful she'd find herself lost forever.

"Halt! Identify yourself!"

Usagi turned in the direction of the voice to find two soldiers, both with very dangerous looking guns pointed at her. She stuttered before finally managing a shaky question.

"W-what?"

"I said identify yourself!" the lead soldier shouted, annoyed at her for being so slow.

"I . . . uh . . ." she stalled, suddenly quite certain that she didn't want to tell this person her name, "I'm . . . Hino Rei!"

"Hino Rei?"

The two soldiers glanced at each other, obviously wondering about the name.

"Yup, that's me, Hino Rei," Usagi grinned and waved at them cheerfully, "Now, if it's okay with you, I'll just be going somewhere where no one points guns at me."

"Stop!"

Usagi paused, her heart sinking as they pointed their weapons at her, seemingly more determined to shoot her than before.

"You aren't going anywhere until you've had a talk with our commander."

"Is there a problem here?"

Usagi turned, as did the soldiers, to face the person who'd spoken. The girl nearly shouted aloud when she saw Setsuna, dressed in a uniform similar to that of these men, only fancier.

"Yes, Lieutenant Meioh, there is a problem," the leader said, gazing at her with a mixture of fear and hatred, "We've got an intruder who seems to think that this is all a joke."

"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of her."

"But—"

"I said don't worry about it," Setsuna's eyes flashed maroon as she looked at the soldier, and he slowly lowered his gun, seemingly in accordance with her order. But as she moved closer to Usagi he suddenly snapped the weapon up again, pointing it at Setsuna this time.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it's not going to work. I take my orders only from the top, not from some transferred Lieutenant. Now, I'll be taking the intruder to the commander, as my prisoner."

Usagi saw Setsuna grimace, and reach for her transformation pen. _No!_ she thought, knowing that if Setsuna transformed now she'd be giving away her cover. Usagi wasn't sure about what was going on, but she did know that her older friend was trying to hide herself within these people. So she did the only thing she could think of.

She called up the power of the Silver Crystal.

Doing this had become easier in the past few months, ever since her sixteenth birthday. One day the Silver Crystal started answering all of her wishes, which caused a few accidents and hooplas, but nothing that she couldn't handle. Usagi didn't know if she had matured enough to use the Crystal in the two years since she'd discovered her true identity, or if there was just something about the age of sixteen that allowed her to access its power. All she knew was that it was more trouble than it was worth.

"What's that?" the soldier asked, stepping backwards from the light that began to grow between Usagi's outstretched hands. She didn't answer, and in a moment the Silver Crystal was floating serenely in the air before her.

"Gomen ne," she said, then released a large blast of white power. This blast knocked the two soldiers back and against the wall. The leader tried to get up, but another blast pushed him back and knocked him out. Usagi looked up to see Setsuna smiling at her.

"Very good, Usagi-chan."

"Well . . . yeah . . ." She didn't know whether she should explain her actions or not. Then Usagi realized that this Setsuna probably already knew about her newfound control of the Crystal. "It's getting easier."

"I know," said the older woman, then she extended her hand towards Usagi, "Usagi-chan, you have to give me the Crystal."

"WHAT?!?" Usagi hugged the Crystal close to her, partially turning away. "I can't do that! Setsuna-san, without the Crystal I'll be powerless!"

"Usagi-chan, the fewer people in this Time who know about your true identity and your powers, the better. Especially now that OZ will know about you. They'll be looking for you and they won't be kind if they find you."

The girl paused, considering. She glanced at the two fallen soldiers, and knew that the leader would not let this go. From his personality she could tell that he would consider this a personal slight against him. At last she sighed and reluctantly handed over the Crystal, now again nestled in its safe position in the brooch.

"Don't worry, you'll get it back when it's time." Usagi eyed Setsuna warily, distrusting the Senshi with her most priceless treasure. Without the Silver Crystal she felt naked, defenseless.

"Come on, Usagi-chan. Luckily you fell in the right Time, just the wrong place." Setsuna extended her hand to her young companion again, "I can only transport us so far. We'll have to take a shuttle to Earth."

"You mean . . . we're NOT on Earth???"

Setsuna laughed a little, the expression of amusement slightly breaking away her mask of sternness. For a moment Usagi could almost believe that this woman had been a friend for far longer than she had.

"No, we're on a ship in space. It's called Barge and it belongs to OZ. That's why we have to get off of it now."

Usagi sighed and took Setsuna's offered hand and in moments they were standing in a completely different place. She shook her head and blinked, trying to get used to the sudden change.

"I didn't know you could do that."

"I can do a lot that you don't know about."

"Oh . . ." Usagi looked about, seeing what looked like a normal park setting. There were children playing on swing sets; fortunately it seemed that none of them had paid any attention to the sudden appearance of two strangers in their midst. She was about to ask Setsuna if the woman was absolutely certain that they weren't on Earth when her eyes happened to wander upwards. There she saw, instead of blue sky and the sun, a ceiling of dull grey metal and bright spotlights that apparently simulated sunlight. She swallowed hard.

"I know, Usagi-chan. It's odd isn't it?" Setsuna looked out on the children and the adults who hovered in the background, talking amongst themselves, "Most of these people have never really seen the sky. They don't know what the sun looks like, or how it feels to gaze up into the night sky and see the vast blanket of stars stretching into forever. These children will grow up the same way for the most part. Save for one," she pointed to a little blonde-haired boy who looked to be about four or five, "that boy will grow up to be a great leader, and he will be the only one of his generation to ever travel to the Earth."

"But why, Setsuna-san?" Usagi breathed in pained disbelief, "Why don't these people go to Earth? Don't they know how beautiful and wonderful it is?" Setsuna shook her head sadly.

"No, they don't. They've been told lies about the Earth, lies that tell them the Earth is corrupt, dirty, and dangerous. It's true to a point, because one can't be completely safe where ever they go, but the problem is not nearly as bad as they've been lead to believe. And since these common people have no contact with Earth they don't know not to believe what they've heard."

Usagi gazed in silence on the group of children, her eyes wavering as she thought of how deprived they were, and would be for their entire lives. Then the little boy skipped over to her, and she looked down at him in bewilderment. He smiled.

"You're from the Earth, aren't you?" he asked innocently, and Usagi blinked.

"H-hai. How did you know?"

"All people from Earth look as confused as you. You all have the same look on your face, like you've lost something."

"No . . . I haven't lost anything," she smiled after a moment, "I think it's the people who live here that suffer the greatest loss."

The boy tilted his head to the side and stared at her in confusion. He didn't yet understand what she meant, but she knew that he would one day. She patted him on the head gently, earning a suspicious glance from his mother. Usagi smiled at her, and that smile alone was enough to put the woman's fears to rest. When she finally looked back up at Setsuna, the Guardian was smiling and seemed satisfied somehow.

"Let's go and register a shuttle," she said and walked off, Usagi skipping behind her in order to keep up.

* * *

Two days later, one day of rest and one of travel, Usagi stood in the middle of a forest. Her newly cleaned school uniform and her neatly bunned hair were disturbed only by a slight wind. Setsuna lifted her face to the sky and smiled.

"Good to be on Earth again, ne, Usagi-chan?"

"Hai, Setsuna-san."

Setsuna breathed in the fresh air deeply then released the breath in a contented sigh.

"The base is just over that hill there," she pointed to a small rise in the ground just ahead of them, "I'm sure at least Quatre will be waiting for us. He tends to know when I'm coming."

The trek was a short one but vastly too much work for Usagi, whose idea of exercise was racing to school every morning. It was a good twenty minutes before she joined a silent Setsuna at the top of the hill. Usagi crouched over, panting in exhaustion and clinging to her companion's arm for support. When at last she'd gotten her breath, Usagi realized that Setsuna had said nothing in the past few minutes. She looked up and saw the oddest expression on the Guardian's face, one of mixed shock, fear, and amusement. In order to see just what it was that shocked Setsuna so, Usagi looked down the hill towards the base.

In the little valley which nestled a run down looking building, chaos was in the process of wrecking havoc, in that way it tends to do.

Five boys were either standing or running. The one with long, braided hair was laughing maniacally as he ran, what looked like a black marker clutched in one hand. Not far behind him was a dark haired Oriental boy, who waved a menacing katana in the air and screamed incoherently in the general direction of his prey. In the background stood a tall, lanky boy with amazingly buoyant red-brown bangs. His face was flushed a bright, embarrassed red, probably because behind him cowered another boy. At first Usagi thought his hair was blonde, but upon closer inspection she saw that it was actually a light shade of pink. This one followed the movements of the black-haired boy as if afraid that he would be the next victim of the katana's wrath. And behind them all stood an inexpressive boy with crossed arms, dripping wet and wearing nothing but a towel.

Usagi looked up at Setsuna, one golden eyebrow arched.

"These are your trained killers?"

End Chapter Four


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Five**  
by Sailorcelestial

Duo sighed. He turned the other direction in the chair. He blew at a strand of hair invading his eyes. Then he sighed again, turned upside down in the chair, and turned the book sideways. Nothing he did made sitting there and waiting any easier or less boring. Finally he laid the book on his stomach and stared up at the ceiling, for lack of anything better to do. Unfortunately he didn't notice that he was sliding from the leather chair and in a moment there was a loud THUD as the braided boy hit the ground headfirst.

"DUO! I TOLD YOU TO KEEP QUIET!"

Duo winced even though Wufei wasn't physically in the room. Somehow the Chinese boy was more intimidating than even Hiiro.

After waiting for a few minutes to be absolutely certain that Wufei wasn't about to storm through the door, Duo finally tilted over onto his side on the floor, then rolled completely onto his stomach. A few more minutes passed with him simply lying facedown on the carpet, unmoving and quiet as a mouse. This brief moment of calm was quickly followed by the flurry of Duo launching himself into a cross-legged sitting position.

"Man, this place is so dead! I'm bored out of my mind!" Indigo eyes, filled with the desperation of the chronically bored, flashed across the room looking for something, anything that might be even remotely interesting.

Nothing.

Duo groaned and pushed himself up, walking over to the closet. Earlier he'd seen a large shoebox sitting on the floor there, but he'd ignored it. Right now, however, he was willing to look into anything to keep himself sane.

He lifted the top from the box and frowned in confusion.

Inside there lay a black marker, a bottle of pink hair dye, a bottle of Tabasco sauce, a can of cayenne pepper, a jar of jalapenos, a screwdriver, and a pair of scissors.

"What the . . .?"

A slow, wicked grin spread across his face as the possibilities for these random items flashed through his evil little mind. A low cackle escaped from his mouth before he clapped his hands over it to stop the sound.

_This is going to be priceless!!_

* * *

"DUO! HEY DUO! FOOD!"

Wufei stood at the entrance of the dining room, silent and expectant. Hiiro, Trowa, and Quatre sat at the table, glancing among themselves as no answer came from upstairs. One minute passed, then two, and still no Duo.

"He's up to something," Wufei growled, "When Duo's this quiet it means trouble."

"Maybe he's just asleep," Quatre offered with a good-natured smile. He'd been very happy and cheerful since the safe return of Trowa to their ranks.

"Even if he were asleep, he would have woken up the instant he heard the word 'food.' I don't like this."

"Neither do—"

Before Hiiro could finish his statement, Duo slammed into Wufei, who had turned around to speak to Quatre, from behind. The two went sprawling across the floor, Duo tumbling heel over braid until he hit the far wall with legs in the air. A low growl issued from Wufei, who was lying facedown on the marble floor and no doubt feeling ready to kill a specific someone. Quatre gulped and leaned closer to Trowa, who stared impassively at the goings on. Hiiro reached across the table with a fork and speared a piece of ham.

"Sorry!" Duo cried, a little too cheerfully to be reassuring, as he bolted up from the floor and into his chair. Wufei grumbled something that no one could understand.

"We were getting worried about you, Duo," Quatre smiled nervously towards the hyperactive pilot.

"Worried? About me? HAH! You shouldn't have!"

Wufei, who had just sat down next to Hiiro, leaned towards the stoic boy, who was already eating, "He's definitely up to something."

"You're too paranoid, Wufei!" Duo exclaimed, ruthlessly stabbing a roll with his fork and shoving it into his mouth. He grinned at Quatre and gave a muffled, "This is great!"

"Thank you, Duo," the blonde smiled again, and no one noticed Trowa looking away as if suddenly embarrassed.

After that the meal proceeded and was insidiously uneventful. Everyone, save for Hiiro, complimented Quatre on his cooking, which he claimed to have learned from one of twenty-nine sisters. At the mention of the female siblings, Wufei choked, no doubt imagining what it would be like to have grown up with that many women around. Even Trowa laughed at that. The five pilots spent a good hour and a half at the dinner table, most of them sharing stories and getting to know each other. If only Setsuna could have seen them, she would have been proud.

At last Quatre pushed back his chair and stood.

"Well, I should go take a shower now. I'll see you all in the morning."

"Have fun, Quatre!" Duo waved, grinning in that annoyingly cheerful way he'd had about him the entire meal. Wufei scowled, still certain that the braided one was conspiring in some manner, just not sure exactly what it was yet. Hiiro sat with arms crossed, looking down at the table, most likely waiting for the rest of them to leave until he went along his business.

When Quatre, after throwing a confused look at Duo, was gone from the room, Trowa stood and began collecting the plates. Duo instantly disappeared the moment Wufei looked away for the merest of moments, and the dark-haired boy vanished in an attempt to find him. After about ten minutes, Hiiro finally rose and made his way into the living room, where his laptop waited patiently for him.

All was quiet.

For about five seconds.

A high pitched screech issued from the upstairs bathroom. Hiiro, assured that it was an OZ attack, bolted from his chair and flew up the stairs in the direction of the sound. Wufei was right behind him, and he could see Trowa standing in the hallway up ahead. Duo was conspicuously absent.

"Trowa, what's—" Hiiro stopped when he saw the expression on Trowa's face. The tall boy's eyes were wide, and his lips twitched slightly, as if trying to form a smile or even a grin. As Hiiro stood there, Trowa lifted a hand to his mouth and nose to unsuccessfully attempt to muffle the snort that issued forth. Hiiro blinked. What on Earth or the colonies was funny enough to make _Trowa_ snort?

Only one way to find out. Hiiro, with a confused Wufei standing behind him, stepped forward and peered curiously into the bathroom.

There, nearly lost in the after shower mist that floated through the room, stood Quatre with a horrified . . . no . . . _vandalized_ expression on his childish face. The reason for his horror was evident, as his newly dried hair- he still held the hair dryer in one hand- was a darker shade of hot pink.

Hiiro caught Trowa's lip twitch.

Wufei, seeing the spread of that facial spasm, pushed Hiiro out of the way in order to see just what was so amusing.

Lip twitches seem to be extremely contagious.

The three pilots most difficult to make laugh stood in the hallway, snickering like five year olds. Trowa leaned against the wall as his amusement turned into full out laughter, and soon his legs gave out beneath him causing him to slide to the floor. Wufei was doubled over in his jollity and Hiiro . . . well . . . Hiiro was highly entertained.

"WHO WAS IT?!?" Quatre demanded, standing in the doorway, towel wrapped around his waist, blue eyes wild and deranged, "WHICH ONE OF YOU DID IT?!?"

"D-Did . . . w-wha-at?" Wufei barely managed to choke out. At that, Trowa burst into a new fit and Hiiro turned away to hide his grin.

"I know . . . it was DUO!!! DUO DID IT!!!"

In the next second the three were alone in the hallway, as Quatre had gone to seek his revenge on the braided one.

Duo, the culprit of what would come to be known as The Great Pink Hair Dye Incident, was lurking around the base with a video camera, poised to catch his unwitting victim, pink hair and all, on tape. Little did he know that he was soon to go from hunter to hunted.

As he turned a corner, the camera's view screen was abruptly filled with the image of Quatre, hot pink hair spiked, eyes wide, and just the barest hint of foam brewing at the corner of his mouth. Duo, of course, was too dense to realize that his life was in danger and likely to end at the fragile age of fifteen. So he merely grinned and proceeded to film the incensed former blonde in all of his half-naked, dyed hair glory.

"Quatre Raberba Winner, how does it feel to be a new man with a new look?"

No answer. And still Duo didn't have a clue.

"I hear that pink is very posh this year in the upper circles," he continued, "all of the ladies- and some of the guys too- will be flocking to you!"

Quatre reached out and snatched the camera from Duo's hands, crushing it in his grip. The judges give him four points for adrenaline. Duo, who only gets two points for being the densest person on the face of the planet, stood there with his hands still in position as if clutching the camera. Seconds passed before he finally straightened and looked at his empty hands in confusion. Then he looked to the shattered pieces of the machine that lay scattered on the floor at Quatre's feet. At last he turned his gaze upwards to the dark- souled person who had dared to steal his toy.

"You broke my camera!"

"I'M GONNA BREAK MORE THAN THAT!"

Duo blinked, finally getting some sort of sense of his peril, as Quatre barreled straight towards him, fingers clenching and unclenching as they anticipated wrapping around the enemies throat. The three who had been deserted upstairs had at last managed to make it downstairs and were watching the events. Hiiro bet Trowa that Duo would be able to outrun Quatre, but Trowa bet both Hiiro and Wufei that Quatre would tackle the braided one in less than thirty seconds. The terms of the bet were never disclosed to outside sources, but neither Hiiro nor Wufei ever bet against Trowa again.

At precisely twenty-seven point two five seconds Quatre took a flying leap and knocked Duo to the ground. For a boy who apologizes every time he has to kill someone, Quatre managed to pull off the insane-with-anger-I'm-gonna-kill-you-with-my-bare-hands personality quite well. In fact, he receives eight more points just for his strangling technique.

"I give up! I give up!" Duo somehow succeeded in saying, "I'm sorry! Just let me go!"

His only response was the choked, gleefully insane laughter that marked Quatre's lunacy. In fact, Quatre's eyes had to them a yellow glow that was suspiciously similar to the glow of the Wing Zero. Somewhere in his befuddled mind, Trowa recognized that while in this state, the normally good-natured boy was not to be messed with. In fact . . . Trowa gets three healthy points for being the first to flee the room. Hiiro gets one lousy point for screaming at the top of his lungs: "HE'S HAVING A RELAPSE!!!" Wufei gets five points for being so amusing as he stood there, now alone, with absolutely no clue as to what the other two were screaming about.

"Huh?" was the only word that stumbled from his mouth.

"Help . . ." Duo pleaded in a strangled yelp.

"Um . . ." muttered Wufei, who had no love for the braided one, but did not condone unnecessary slaughter, "Shouldn't we do something?"

"DO something?!?" Hiiro shouted from behind a table that had been knocked on its side, "Do WHAT?!? You didn't see Quatre when he was actually piloting the Wing Zero! He's a madman! He's INSANE!"

Trowa was silent.

"But . . ." Wufei paused, pondering, "If he's insane like he was in Wing Zero . . . then shouldn't we try to make him sane again before he tries to kill us all?"

Hiiro and Trowa exchanged a glance over the table. _Damn,_ said the glance, _he's right . . ._

With a pair of sighs and wary looks, the three inched over to Quatre and Duo, the latter of which was turning a rather pretty shade of royal blue. It took all of the strength between the three of them to pry Quatre's fingers from Duo's throat and then to lift him up and away so that the braided boy could stand and dart a healthy distance away.

"Er . . ." Wufei mused as they held the kicking, writhing, screaming former blonde, "Now what? How do we snap him out of it?"

"I know!" Duo cried, and the three gulped, turning a pale shade of grey. He rushed off only to return a few moments later with a bucket of water. Without hesitation Duo proceeded to fling the water in their general direction. While the water, very cold water indeed, splashed not only Quatre but Trowa and Hiiro as well, the bucket slipped from Duo's grasp and flew through the air, making a gorgeous three point landing right on Wufei's head.

"Baka . . ." came the metallic grumbling from beneath the pail.

"Oops . . ."

"You weren't supposed to splash US."

"Sorry, Hiiro!"

Trowa's bangs somehow managed to stay poised in the air, despite the weight of the water.

" . . ."

"Sorry, Trowa!"

"Wha happuned?" came Quatre's plaintive plea from Hiiro and Trowa's iron grip. The four pilots looked down at him, pitiful in his soaked and near naked confusion. His eyes were once more the soft blue they were all used to, and so filled with gentle bewilderment that his companions knew that he was no longer insane. For the time being at least.

"You . . . er . . . ate too much sugar before taking your shower," Duo offered with a lopsided grin. Although they knew that the excuse was weak at best, the other three nodded in agreement, for none of them had any better explanations and no one wanted to clarify exactly what had occurred. Quatre blinked at them all, then sighed.

"Well, I'll have to remember not to do that next time then," he said trustingly, "Um . . . Hiiro . . . Trowa . . ."

"Yes?"

"Hn?"

"Do you think you could let me go now? I think my arms are bruised . . ."

* * *

Duo leaned against the inside of his door, head banging rhythmically against the wood. For the past five hours he had been locked inside the small space that dared to call itself a bedroom, involuntarily confined to quarters by the three objective pilots. Hiiro, Trowa, and Wufei had decided that the best course of action for keeping Quatre safe from any more pranks was to keep Duo under house arrest. Only the house was defined by his room.

"C'mon! I was only trying to have a little fun! You guys gotta be bored here too! You understand, don't you?"

No answer.

"PLEASE LET ME OUT!" the braided one whined pathetically, "I'VE LEARNED MY LESSON!!! I PROMISE!!! PLEASE!!!"

Still no answer.

Duo returned to banging his head and waiting for his jailers to rediscover the lost parts of themselves that were human.

Outside, Wufei grinned stupidly as he kept guard over his nemesis.

* * *

Quatre stood in the bathroom, pale blue pajamas clinging to his skin, which was still somewhat wet from Duo's mishap with the bucket. From the mirror before him stared back a pink-haired version of himself. His blue eyes got ever so big and wide and filled with tears just ready to spill. Oh the horror! The humanity! His DIGNITY! However was it to be saved???

Quatre leaned his face forward into his hands and wept.

A hand, its touch tentative, lighted briefly on his shoulder. The boy looked up to see Trowa standing behind him, looking downwards, expression just as guarded as when they had first met, but with a tint of something else to it. The hand that had been on his shoulder hovered just slightly behind it now, as if wondering if it should attempt the contact again. A few tight moments passed in silence as Quatre gazed upwards, and Trowa stared at the floor in an attempt to avoid his gentle companions eyes.

"It's not that bad," he finally murmured, the barest hint of a flush coloring his cheeks. Quatre blinked, whether from surprise or to push back the tears it is unknown.

"Yes it is," he whispered, "No one took me seriously as a fighter before," his eyes trailed to the mirror once more, "Now it will be even worse."

"I . . ." Trowa paused to collect his jumbled, tumbled, and utterly befooozled thoughts before continuing, "I don't remember much. But I'm sure that I took you seriously. And I take what you just did to Duo very seriously."

Quatre blinked again, this time most definitely from surprise at hearing Trowa speak so much in one sitting. Then, as he lowered his gaze to the sink, the meaning of the tall boy's words finally hit him and he turned back.

Only to find Trowa gone.

He sighed.

_One day . . . one day I'm going to find out what is going on in your head, Trowa._

* * *

A few days later, Duo wasn't sure exactly how many, he was finally released from involuntary confinement. His captors assumed that his time in prison had straightened him out, made him think about his actions, and think twice before attempting something along those lines again.

They don't know Duo very well, do they?

Unbeknownst to his helpless fort-mates, Duo had managed to smuggle the black magic marker out of his room in his back pocket.

And now . . . he was looking about to make certain no one was around to see him slip into the Gundam hanger . . .

* * *

Hiiro had just slipped into a hot shower when he heard a blood-curdling scream issue from outside. He blinked. From the pitch of it, quite high, it sounded like Quatre. But the content did not.

"KISAMA!!!!"

Hiiro, after weeks of living with his fellow pilots, had finally found it within himself to sigh. And he did. After a moment he decided that his curiosity, what little of it there was, had won over his need to stay in the shower. He stepped out and wrapped a towel around himself, then headed outside to see just what all the commotion was about.

Duo was running about, laughing maniacally. Nothing so new about that. Duo always ran about laughing maniacally. Behind him, Wufei wielded his katana, screaming "KISAMA!" and other less mentionable words in Duo's general direction. Nothing odd about that either. And, as usual when they were around, Quatre hid in barely disguised fear behind Trowa. Luckily for the boy a few days of showers had lightened his hair to a more bearable shade of pink than its original bright hue. Hiiro leaned in and murmured to him.

"What is going on?"

"I don't know exactly . . ." Quatre managed somehow to mumble back amid his shaking in fear, "apparently Duo did something to Shenlong . . ."

Hiiro's eyes widened. They all knew how protective Wufei was of his Gundam. Duo had to have been insane to do anything to the dragon pilot's Gundam. Even Hiiro himself would never have been brave enough to mar the "perfect beauty that is Nataku."

"How DARE you," Wufei was screaming, "ruin the perfect beauty that is Nataku!"

Hiiro crossed his arms and prepared to turn away when a high pitched, even more so than Wufei's original scream, laugh reached his ears. Hiiro blinked. Wufei stopped running and lowered his katana to follow the sound of the laugh. Quatre and Trowa looked at each other. Then, deciding that the knife show was over for the day, they backed away from each other just enough to still be within arms reach, and allowed their eyes to also find the perpetrator of the laugh. Duo still ran, laughing maniacally.

From the hill overlooking the valley where she normally made a showy and mysterious entrance came the woman who had brought them all here. She looked much less than mysterious now as she walked towards them, the shadow of embarrassment covering her tanned face. Her entire frame professed mortification, but they couldn't decide whether she was ashamed of them, or of the figure beside her.

That was the source of the demonic laughter that threatened to tear apart their eardrums. It was a girl, who looked no older than they were, somewhat younger even. Her hair was done in an unusual style none of them had ever seen before, and was amazingly long. She might have been a very lovely young woman, but none of them could tell for the simple fact that her mouth was taking up a large portion of her face as she cackled. Their mysterious benefactor growled something to the hyena that none of them could hear for the noise. As suddenly as it had come upon them, however, the laughing ceased as the girl heard whatever it was the woman had said to her.

"But . . . but Setsuna-san! You CAN'T be serious! I've seen killers! I've seen generations of killer youma, and trust me, these boys—"

"For the last time, Usagi-chan, BE QUIET!"

None of the pilots had ever seen or heard the woman yell before, and it took them all off guard.

Apparently the same held true for this girl, Usagi-chan, for she immediately fell silent. A moment passed where the woman appeared to be gathering her thoughts and whatever shreds of her patience were left. At long last she opened her eyes and looked at them.

"I am Setsuna," she announced, "and I have brought you someone to help you save the Earth and the colonies."

A pause.

Then Duo, who had yet to cease running, slammed into the blonde girl and they both tumbled to the ground.

"BAKA!" she screamed at him.

"I like her," Wufei said to Hiiro.

End Chapter Five


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Six**  
by Sailorcelestial

"Thank you, Quatre," the woman called Setsuna murmured to him as he handed her a cup of tea. The boy nodded quietly and straightened to look for what had to be the millionth time towards the girl Setsuna had brought to them.

She sat beside Duo on the living room couch, straight and proper, as if some cultural sense of morality drove her to act such in the presence of these young men. Quatre found himself staring at her. True, her long hair was sunlight gold and not the soft silver of moonbeams. But her eyes . . . her eyes were the same clear, iridescent blue of the sad princess of his dream. If he gazed at her long enough, he could almost see the touch of royalty to her features, a hint of sorrow in her kind gaze. Could it be? Could she truly be . . .

Her eyes swung to him.

She'd felt him watching her. Her head tilted ever so slightly to the side as she looked on him curiously. Quatre gulped and blushed, embarrassed at having been caught being so rude. Quickly he looked downwards and moved to the other side of Duo, setting his own cup of tea on the coffee table that waited before them.

Across the way Setsuna had settled herself comfortably on the small loveseat and sipped her tea delicately. To her right, in a plush chair sat Wufei, his blade resting in his lap as a warning to Duo against any sudden or suspicious movement. To Quatre's right in a matching chair sat Hiiro, calmly drinking a steaming mug of coffee, eyes downcast as usual. And behind them, standing away from the rest of the group, Trowa stood with his back to them, gazing out at the drizzling rain that had begun only a few moments before. Quatre hazarded a glance over his shoulder at the lone boy, and wished that Trowa would join them. At his left Duo shifted and sighed, no doubt so bored with the quiet he could barely stand it.

"You're all wondering why I've gone through all of this trouble," Setsuna finally said, carefully placing her cup on its saucer. She leaned forward and set the cup down, a sorrowful sigh escaping her lips. Quatre felt, not for the first time, the aura of age and sadness that enveloped her. If not written in her appearance, it was certainly written in her eyes.

"Yeah," Duo was saying in response, "Who are you and why have you turned our lives upside down?"

"Have I upset your life anymore than the scientists who turned you into what you are?"

The five blinked, while their blonde guest looked on in blatant curiosity.

"How—"

"How do I know about that?" Setsuna turned to Wufei, who had been the one to ask the doomed question. The smallest of smiles graced her lips, "There is no way that I can explain my knowledge to you that you will believe. I am . . . very old."

"Yes," murmured Quatre from across the way, "I know. You're much older than you appear to be."

"And how the hell do you know that?" Duo exclaimed, settling down again when Wufei glared at him menacingly.

"I just . . . I feel it."

Setsuna nodded.

"You feel much, don't you, Quatre?" Her eyes fell on him, their maroon depths swirling in his vision, and Quatre felt that this woman saw deep into his very soul, "Your empathy is a gift, it tells you more about those around you than you are willing to accept." Then her gaze moved to the girl, Usagi-chan, and Quatre felt the golden-haired one gulp under the pressure of those eyes. Setsuna seemed to be silently telling them that they shared something in this gift . . . that the two of them were alike in this way.

"You were about to explain to us who you are," Hiiro said quietly, never lifting his eyes from his cup. Setsuna glanced to him, that small smile back to dangle at her lips.

"Yes, I was."

"Setsuna-san . . ." spoke the girl for the first time since she first arrived. Her entire slender frame was leaned forward, her eyes filled with apprehension. Whatever it was that Setsuna was going to tell them, Usagi-chan did not seem to feel as confident as the tall woman.

"Daijoubu, Usagi-chan. They have a right to know who I am. After all, I have disrupted the true course of their futures."

"What?" Duo's voice rose a bit in pitch with the force of his incredulity. Quatre was certain that behind him Trowa's gaze had left the falling rain and landed on this mysterious woman. Hiiro certainly looked up from his coffee, and Wufei almost dropped his katana. The claim she was making . . . disrupting their futures . . . it sounded as if she were implying that she had actually known their futures.

Setsuna merely sat there waiting for the five of them to calm before continuing.

"I am a warrior," she began, "one of many who protect this planet. However I have another duty as well. I am the Guardian of Time, my obligation being to safeguard the Gate of Time and observe, ensuring that Time flows naturally. I am . . . not supposed to interfere with anything, no matter how much I am tempted to do so." At this point Setsuna trailed off into silence, staring at the floor. Quatre turned slightly to see Usagi-chan gazing at the taller woman in kind understanding. Had Setsuna once violated this rule to help the girl?

"Setsuna-san . . ." This time Usagi-chan's voice was softer, with an edge of compassion to it that Quatre heard very little in his time. The woman shook her head as if to clear it and waved a hand at the girl.

"No, Usagi-chan, it's not necessary. I know." A smile, then: "However, when I saw what was about to happen to the five of you, I knew that I had to disobey that law once more."

"What was going to happen?" Duo asked with a dark sort of interest, the kind one has when offered the chance to know one's own date of death. If only Quatre knew how close his analogy was to the truth.

"Duo, it . . ." The pause in Setsuna's voice was laced with so much that Quatre could almost hear the words:

_Terrible things . . . death . . . murder . . . betrayal . . . too much for your souls to bear I think . . ._

"It is not important," were the words that finally spilled from her crimson mouth, "what is important is that I will not allow that future to exist. I have already changed it now, simply by intervening and bringing you here."

"Well, that's it then," Duo jumped up with a large smile, "We can go now, if you've already changed it, then we're all fine and—"

"It's not that simple," Usagi-chan murmured from her perch on Duo's left. She said it with such confidence that Quatre was certain she had been through something like this before.

"Usagi-chan is right," Setsuna said with a frown, "it's not that easy. I've changed your futures, but that does not necessarily mean for the better. My judgement could have been completely wrong. That is why I've brought Usagi-chan here to help you. I . . . there are certain things that I cannot do. . ."

_I cannot be with you always,_ Quatre heard beneath the pauses, _I cannot change your minds; I cannot change your hearts. I cannot be the friend that she can be to you . . ._

The young boy's eyes widened as he looked from Setsuna to Usagi-chan. Who was this girl that Setsuna had such faith in her? Who was she that this aged creature, this woman who had seen more years than the Earth, trusted the teenager with the fate of five lives? She must have been a goddess.

_Selene . . ._

Quatre shook his head, not believing that he had come up with such a ridiculous comparison. She could not be the goddess Selene. Not only was this girl achingly mortal, but she also was real, while the goddess was mere myth. Wasn't she?

"What are you babbling on about, Onna?"

"Destiny," Setsuna replied, never skipping a beat at Wufei's arrogant tone, "I'm speaking of destiny, both yours and Usagi-chan's." Her eyes grew hard with a certain sternness that, like her age, had always hung about her like a loose robe that she now pulled about her tightly. What came with it was an air of command that no doubt was a result of seeing the millennia pass like moments. "This is something that must happen, not only for you five, but also for her. Usagi-chan has a great destiny that she has only just begun to understand. There is a price and a responsibility that comes with it . . ." Setsuna trailed into silence once more, this time under a fog of having said much more than she had planned. Quatre saw the lips press together tightly, and knew that they would get no more information from her this day. His eyes moved again to Usagi-chan and saw that she had paled by several shades . . . she was not in a mood to be asked questions, which Duo would no doubt do once Setsuna was gone.

"Well," the boy said quietly as he rose, "Usagi-chan is no doubt very tired from her journey; I believe it would be a nice gesture for you to show her to her room, Wufei."

"Me?" Wufei sniffed, glancing the girl up and down, sizing her up, no doubt coming to the conclusion that she was just another unworthy woman. Quatre sighed inwardly.

"Yes, Wufei, you," he said with just the tiniest hint of impatience behind the words. Wufei grumbled to himself, but rose and motioned for the girl to follow him. Quatre allowed his sigh to pass from him as one of relief.

"Thank you, Quatre," Setsuna said in an echo of the words she spoke before. This time, he could see in her eyes, she was thanking him for much more than just a cup of tea. He nodded to her, a small smile of him own on his lips.

"Is that it?" Duo shrieked, hands flying into the air in an exasperated gesture, "Is that ALL you have to tell us?"

"No," she replied, a bit of steel returning to her tone, "that isn't all. But I'm not prepared to tell you the rest of it yet. Usagi-chan needs to be here to hear it, but she is, as Quatre observed, exhausted." Setsuna rose from her seat, slowly, as if the weight of her duty pressed her downwards even now. "I'll return at a later time to tell you the rest," her eyes closed with her weariness, "Please, PLEASE, behave until then, Duo?" It was a plea, her way of begging.

"Sure," Duo replied cheerfully, "I'll behave. I promise."

* * *

Usagi sighed as she followed the black haired one called Wufei. He wasn't very friendly. Not at all. In fact, he seemed to be grumbling grumpily to himself as he led her along. She made a face, and finally her overwhelming sense of having been insulted overcame her fear of saying something stupid.

"If you didn't want to show me to my room, you could fought a little harder."

"What?" the boy turned and glared at her with hard black eyes that made Usagi wonder if she had been wise to speak.

"I said," she began to repeat, forcing the nervous shake from her voice, "that if you didn't want to be my guide, you should have fought harder. I could have found my way by myself." She was rewarded with a derogatory snort from her guide and a roll of his eyes.

"We'd have been searching for you in this place for weeks. It's not that easy to navigate, especially for airheaded teenage girls."

"I'm not the only teenager around here," she exclaimed indignantly, eyeing him pointedly, "How old ARE you anyway?"

"I'm fifteen," he answered, arrogance practically dripping from every word, "No doubt several years older than you." He crossed his arms, obviously prepared for profuse apologies.

That was something he was not going to be getting from Tsukino Usagi.

"I'm sixteen," she said with a particular glee, crossing her own arms, "a year older than you, so HAH!"

"You don't act like it," he mumbled, turning away and continuing on his trek down the hallway. Usagi took this as a personal victory and followed him, skipping happily.

Only a few more moments passed before Wufei stopped, and Usagi nearly slammed into him from behind. Luckily for her, he hadn't noticed her screeching to a halt. The boy motioned to a door and grumbled something that sounded like "Here."

Usagi, in a characteristic display of immaturity, stuck her tongue out at him before opening the door and stepping through.

Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

"It's just like home," she breathed, her gaze travelling from one item to the next. She couldn't believe the accuracy with which her bedroom home in twentieth century Tokyo had been recreated. The sheets, the pajamas that waited for her . . . everything down to the number of stuffed rabbits sitting on her dresser was perfect, down to the last detail of their whiskers. Mr. Floppy even had a tea stain, although this rabbit did look a bit more time worn than the one that sat on her own dresser. In fact, even the dresser was perfect. It even had a sticker of a winged horse stuck to the side, like the one she had stuck there when she was seven years old . . .

_It IS mine!_ She realized with sudden clarity, _NeoQueen Serenity must have had this place built! She must have put all of my old furniture here, knowing that I would feel more comfortable if it looked like home._

Tiny tears of gratitude filled her eyes. Serenity may have been her future self, but the woman was much more thoughtful than she had ever been. Usagi felt honored to know that one day she would be that woman.

A sigh from behind her broke into her private reverie.

"You take one look at stuffed rabbits and already you're sobbing. How are you ever supposed to help us with our war?"

"I've seen war," she answered quietly, and by the expression on his face she could tell that her words had taken Wufei by surprise, "Maybe not the same kind of war as you . . . but I've seen war."

"I'm surprised you're still alive, then," he replied, and turned away, leaving Usagi alone in her room.

* * *

Wufei scowled as he stalked down the hallway. That girl . . . she was weak, he could tell. She was like all of the other women in that way. They all cried so easily, letting their emotions get in the way of duty, of what they knew had to be done.

Yet . . . when she had uttered those words . . . _I've seen war_ . . . something that rose from the depths of those blue eyes had almost forced him to respect her right then and there. A deep sorrow, a sense of wisdom that shouldn't hang on a girl so young.

_No,_ he thought to himself with a shake of his head, _she's only a girl, like any other._

* * *

Quatre turned back into the room after Setsuna left, and his eyes rested on those of his fellow pilots who remained. Hiiro still sat in his chair, still staring at his coffee. There was, however, a glint of extra hardness to his gaze that worried Quatre. The stoic pilot was taking Setsuna's words very seriously. Behind the couch, Trowa stood with arms crossed and looked at Quatre, his eyes begging for some sort of guidance. Quatre gazed back helplessly, as unsure of what to do as any of the others. Duo, surprisingly, was sitting on the couch quietly, eyes glazed over with the signs of being lost in thought. What went on in the braided ones head when he was serious like this?

"So," came Wufei's voice from the doorway, "what are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't like this," Hiiro said, finally taking his eyes from his coffee to look towards Quatre, "She's still keeping us in the dark. There's information that she's hiding from us."

"She'll tell us in her own time," Quatre replied, a plea lacing his voice. He trusted Setsuna, and wanted the other pilots to trust her as well. Trowa, Hiiro, and Wufei glared at him, not even the tall, quiet boy seeming to agree with him. "Please, Trowa," he begged, reassured somewhat when Trowa merely sighed and shrugged.

"I say we wait and see."

The four turned to Duo, who had spoken quietly, but it was amazing that he had spoken on this subject at all. He sat there, elbow resting on the couch's armrest, indigo eyes narrow in serious thought. _Why, he looks almost . . . like a leader._ Quatre blinked at the errant thought, forcing it back into the depths of his mind. Duo, a leader? He would never be able to muster the sobriety for more than a few moments at most.

"But," the braided one chirped on cue, "until then I say we enjoy the company! It'll be nice to have companionship other than your grave faces all the time!" With that he slapped the armrest and pushed himself up, pushing past Wufei as if nothing in the world mattered to him, as if they were not in the middle of a war.

Quatre sighed.

* * *

Duo marched down the hallways, braid swinging behind him as he made his way in the direction of the girl's room. He knew it was down here somewhere . . .

Ah, yes, there.

He stopped before the plain door, fist raised in preparation to knock. But he didn't. Instead he stood there, indulging in his short memories of her sun-gold hair and iridescent blue eyes. From the moment he had calmed enough to look into the face of the person he had slammed into, Duo had not been able to look away from her, or keep the vision of her celestial countenance from his mind. She was an absolute angel, why couldn't the others see that? One would think that even stern Wufei or stoic Hiiro would have noticed her.

_I'd have killed them if they did . . ._

Duo blinked, surprised at his own vehemence. Where had that come from? He hadn't known this girl more than five minutes, and had spoken only a word or two of apology to her. She had, and rightfully so, not uttered a single word of reply to him. She had been too busy dusting off her skirt and shirt.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself to knock once more when his eyes caught a glimpse of color under the grime that marked the door. Curiosity momentarily overriding his desire to see her again, Duo leaned forward and brushed away the dirt with one hand. After a few swipes he began to uncover the bright pink of very old painted lettering. It had been painted by an expert hand, and the letters were in ornately curly-qed cursive. Only one word graced that door.

Usagi.

It seemed that Usagi-chan's destiny truly did lead here. Otherwise her name would not have been scrawled on the door when the building was first built, so many years ago. Duo smiled, for some reason relieved greatly that Setsuna had not made a mistake in bringing the girl here.

The door swung open suddenly.

Duo, hand still raised, was caught standing out in the hallway, mouth open dumbly. The girl stood just inside, hand still on the inside doorknob, one golden eyebrow raised.

"Hai?" she asked him, "Can I help you?"

"I . . . uh . . . well . . ." he stopped. She still stared at him expectantly, her free hand resting on a hip. Duo realized that he must look very stupid. There was nothing to be done about it now, however, and the boy stood there silently, blinking.

"Well, since you seem to have nothing better to do, would you mind showing me to the kitchen? I'm STARVING!" The words cut through the air and slapped Duo, waking him from his trance. Something about the idea of eating appealed to him at that moment . . . as opposed to any moments where it didn't, and the boy immediately grinned ear-to-ear.

"Sure! Follow me!"

Duo swung about, flinging a quick motion at her to follow and started down the hallway. It wasn't very long before he was babbling on about something so completely inane that it isn't even worth mentioning. However, his babblings ceased when he felt a tug at his braid. He stopped and spun to gaze on the girl with narrowed eyes. She stood with her hands behind her back, the most innocent of expressions on her angelic face. He glared at her a few seconds longer before turning around and hesitantly continuing his walk. A moment or so passed in silence when he again felt the tug, a bit harder. This time when he turned he caught Usagi-chan with the tip of his braid in her hands, playing with it like a five year old child.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat and was rewarded when her head jerked upwards. She knew she was caught red-handed. He expected an apology, but got something completely different.

"How come your hair is so long?"

"What?!?"

"The only other guy I've ever known who had such long hair was Fish-Eye," she paused, and then added, "but he dressed like a girl a lot anyway . . ."

"Huh? Who's Fish-Eye? What kind of name is that? And why my hair is so long is none of your business anyway!"

"Gomen," she said, never releasing his braid as her hands flew about in the air, gesturing wildly, "but it was just a simple question. I'm allowed to ask questions you know. And it's not THAT much of a personal question, it's only about your hair! But I can understand if you find your hair very important to you. I know several people back home who would die if anything happen to their hair, but most of them are girls—"

"My hair," he growled, snatching his braid back from her possession, "is none. Of. Your. Business." He emphasized each word so that she would not miss his point.

"Okay," she said quietly, subdued by his evident anger, the poor girl not understanding why this was such a sensitive subject. Duo stood there a moment and finally decided that an apology from him was unnecessary. SHE was the one who needed to apologize. Yes. Definitely her.

Once more headed in the direction of the kitchen, silence following behind him like a heavy shadow, Duo considered telling her everything about Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. If he told her about his life as an orphan, then his part in the deaths of those two kind-hearted individuals, what would she say? Would those blue eyes turn from him in shock and shame? He didn't want to find out.

"I'm sorry," he offered through a cough, his fist balled before his mouth. He stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and waited for her to catch up. "I shouldn't have . . . I mean, it's really nothing . . . there are just certain things—"

"It's okay," he heard her say, and her voice was devoid of any anger or hurt. He looked up and into her face. She was smiling at him. He knew that his outburst, seemingly from nowhere, had hurt her feelings, but she didn't show it. She merely smiled. "You don't have to explain. We all have things that we don't want to talk about."

"Not you," he heard himself say before he could stop himself, "I can't imagine anything you could have done that you wouldn't want to talk about."

Usagi-chan gave a small smile, a gift that Duo treasured in his deepest heart, unknowingly. But the smile had such a tinge of sorrow to it that he felt something catch in his chest, an urge to hug her in assurance that everything would be alright.

_Stop it! You're being stupid!_

"I have my share of things I've done, both recent and . . . very old . . . that I'm not proud of. One day, if we become friends like Setsuna-san wants, maybe I'll tell you about some of them." With that said she turned and walked through the kitchen door, leaving Duo standing in the hallway alone.

_I'd be happy to listen . . . if only to hear your voice._

* * *

Quatre stood just outside the hallway. He hadn't meant to overhear the conversation between Duo and Usagi-chan, but on his way to the kitchen it had been inevitable.

_I have my share of things I've done, both recent and . . . very old . . ._

"The suicide . . ." the boy murmured to himself. He was quite certain now that this girl and the princess from his dream were one and the same. The facts just didn't make sense, though. If she had committed suicide, how could she be standing her now, not only much younger than his dream princess, but also with a different hair color all together. The blonde was not the product of dye. It was too much like spun gold, too much a natural blonde to be dye. But the princess's hair had been moonlight silver.

He shook his head, not understanding what he was supposed to do about this. Even if the two were the same, of what importance could that possibly be to them?

A sound behind him caused Quatre to turn and look up into the questioning face of Trowa. He opened his mouth, then caught himself before letting the words tumble from his lips. If he wasn't sure, then it wouldn't do Trowa any good to worry about it as well. The tall boy had enough to worry about as it was, with lost memories and all. Quatre shrugged and gave a gentle smile.

"I think Duo has a crush on our guest."

"Ah," Trowa replied in his usual brief manner. A glint from his one visible emerald eye made Quatre think that perhaps the circus boy wasn't completely convinced his gentle companion was telling the entire truth. He didn't wait around for a longer explanation, though, assuming that there must be a reason for Quatre's resistance to share his true thoughts. Instead Trowa merely turned and returned to the living room, where Hiiro and Wufei were still discussing what must be done about the mysterious and non-talkative Setsuna. Quatre followed him. Listening to the end of the conversation, the two seemed to have decided that the woman would share all of her knowledge the next time she appeared, or else.

"I hope you two are certain that you would be doing the right thing." Quatre peered at them hesitantly.

"We are," Hiiro replied, eyes steely, "It's right. If she doesn't tell us her entire plan, we will kill her."

Quatre stared at Hiiro, and then at the nodding Wufei and Trowa.

_What are we?_ He wondered incredulously, _What are we that killing has become the answer to all of our problems?_

End Chapter Six.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Seven**  
by Sailorcelestial

Four weeks passed. Four weeks in which Duo and Usagi both drove the other pilots insane by simply being bored and having no outlet for which to alleviate that boredom. Even Trowa had nearly cracked, once barely holding back from grabbing Hiiro's gun in order to put Duo out of his misery.

On this particular day, Duo was once more confined to his room. He sat at the window, chin rested in one hand, annoyed indigo eyes gazing out at the landscape. The only thing that made him feel any better at all was the fact that Usagi, who had quickly corrected him on what she was to be called, was also locked in her own room. No doubt she was creating more of a ruckus than he ever had.

His mind wandered briefly, back to the scene enacted not too many days after she had first arrived . . .

* * *

_"Hey, Usagi-chan!"_

_Usagi whirled on the braided one, who waved at her with the most idiotic of grins plastered on his face._

_"Don't call me that! You don't have the right to call me that!"_

_"Huh?" Duo asked, plain confusion written on his features, "Why not? Isn't that what Setsuna called you? I thought it was your name."_

_"My name is Tsukino Usagi, and only my friends and family call me Usagi-chan!" Her voice was flooded with indignance, even as she left out some of the more complicated details of the suffixes that followed all Japanese names. "You are younger than I am, and not only that, but you barely know me!"_

_"Er . . ." he wasn't sure if this was important or just the rambling of an insane teenager, "So . . . what DO I call you?"_

_"Since I'm older, and you don't know me well, you should call me Usagi-san!"_

_"Usagi . . . –san . . ." Duo tried out the new sound, and he wasn't so sure about it. Somehow it didn't seem to fit this bubbly, cheerful girl. But by the look in her determined blue eyes he knew that any attempt to call her anything else would result in him having a black eyes, or worse._

_"Okay, I'll call you Usagi-san."_

_"Arigatou," she replied, and Duo gave her the purest look of confusion._

_"It means 'thank you,'" she informed him._

_"Oh . . ."_

* * *

It was the sudden sight of a figure darting out over the green grass of the valley that broke Duo out of his memories. There was no mistaking those twin rivers of sun-gold; it was Usagi. He sighed. Where did she think she was going? If the guys found out they'd be absolutely livid!

Now, Duo had no reason to help her. In the past four weeks the two of them had played more practical jokes on each other than Duo had EVER played in his entire life. And that was quite an accomplishment. He learned that Usagi had quite a malicious streak in her when the situation allowed, and his trust of her had plummeted considerably since that first day. Anyone who brought scissors within a foot of his braid was an evil, evil person who didn't deserve his trust.

But . . . if he sneaked out of his window now to bring her back, that was ten minutes of freedom. And ten minutes of freedom in this prison was nothing to throw away.

In moments the braided one had climbed out of the window and was darting across the valley after the golden girl, Usagi.

It didn't take him very long to realize that her steps were too sure, her path too certain, for this to have been her first secret trek. Duo's eyes narrowed as he decided simply to follow her at first to see where it was she was lurking off to. Through the trees she traveled, and Duo had to hide several times while Usagi stopped to untangle her hair from various low growing bushes. He snickered under his breath; that was a good reason to wear one's hair in a braid, and she deserved the trouble and pain this was causing her, he was sure of it.

Perhaps fifteen, or maybe twenty, minutes after the journey had begun, Duo blinked to find that somehow Usagi had managed to locate the nearest small town. From what Setsuna had told him of the base's location, he knew that the girl had led him into the Sanch Kingdom, for that was where the only town within walking distance lie.

"Hello, Usagi-san!" shouted a little girl, who ran up to Usagi, brown pigtails bobbing in the wind.

"Konnichiwa, Terry-chan!" the older girl replied in that odd language that somehow the other pilots understood. He was going eventually have to ask them what it was, so that he could learn it as well. Obviously Usagi had been spreading the knowledge around, or else the little girl would not have known to call her "Usagi-san." More proof that this was only the latest in a string of secret excursions.

Duo slipped from his hiding place out into the crowd in order to continue following her as she walked along with the little pig-tailed girl. Every so often he ducked into a new hiding spot, if they seemed to turn his way. The two seemed to be involved in some serious conversation, about food no doubt, knowing Usagi. And all along the way people would nod and smile at Usagi as if she were the dearest of old friends, and some of them even offered her fresh baked buns or pastries. None of them seemed at all worried about the fact that until a little while ago this girl had been a complete stranger to them, perhaps even an OZ spy.

_Either the people of the Sanch Kingdom are crazy,_ Duo thought to himself, or there is much more to Usagi than I thought . . .

"Hey, you! Yeah, you with the braid."

Duo gulped at the harsh tone in that voice. He turned slowly, looking up into the black-bearded face of the shop owner behind whose barrels he had chosen as his most recent hiding place.

"What do you think you're doing?" the less than happy looking man demanded, shaking a spatula in Duo's face, "Did you think you could sneak a loaf or two from that barrel without me noticing, eh?"

"No! I—"

"I haven't seen you around here before. You must be a foreigner. Well then, the guards will be only too happy to hand you over to OZ so they can take you home!"

OZ?!?

Duo's eyes widened as he thought about what OZ would do if they got their hands on him again. He couldn't let that happen. He scowled and prepared to run, maybe even slap the shop owner around a bit if it was necessary for his escape.

"Shingo!" came a familiar voice from the crowd, and Duo blinked, looking that way. There stood Usagi, her hands on her hips, an expression of pure annoyance on her face.

"You know this boy, Usagi-chan?" the owner asked, still wielding the spatula as if ready to smack Duo at any moment.

"Yes, George-san," she answered with a respectful bow, "He's my little brother, Shingo-kun." She turned her eyes to him and shouted, wagging a finger in his face, "What have I told you about following me? Mama and Papa will be furious with you! I'll take you home, but then you have to stay there, understand?"

Duo opened and closed his mouth silently for a moment, not quite sure what to make of this situation. Then, looking into her face, he realized what it was she was doing. His mind scrambled for the proper word, and came up with the only one he'd heard her speak that he thought might fit.

"Hai," slipped from his lips, and he saw her relax ever so slightly. Apparently he'd chosen correctly, and she'd taught these people enough of her language that they would know the difference. If he was to play her little brother, it was important that they hear him speaking the same as she did.

"I don't know, Usagi-chan," rumbled Spatula Man, doubt swimming in his eyes, dark with suspicion, "He looks a little old to be your younger brother."

"He's tall for his age," she replied with a laugh, wrapping the slender fingers of one hand around his arm as she pulled him to his feet, "And he looks like our Papa, while I look like our Mama." Duo nodded dumbly in agreement. "He was probably just _spying_ on me," she went on, and bopped him on the head in what he felt certain was not false annoyance, "you know little brothers!"

Spatula Man peered at them for a moment longer, then sighed and waved them away with his flat weapon, "Fine then, go on. And I'd better not see you hanging around my bread barrels again, got it?"

"Hai!" Duo offered with more confidence than before, even managing an innocent looking smile. Spatula Man scowled and turned back into his small shop.

Usagi released his arm and smacked him upside the head.

"What are you DOING?!?" she hissed at him under her breath as the crowd began to disperse.

"HEY!" he gripped his head and glared at her with confused and angry indigo eyes.

"You know better than that!" she continued in a subdued whisper, "Setsuna-san told me enough about this . . . about what's going on for me to know that you'd be in VERY deep trouble if OZ ever found you!"

"Yeah," he admitted, somewhat guiltily, "but that doesn't give you the right to hit me!"

"It was for your own good," she shot back at him with a mischievous grin, "After all, someone's got to beat some sense into that thick skull of yours, ne?" Duo scowled as Usagi popped one of the buns she'd gotten as a free gift into her mouth and started once more down the street to where the little girl waited for her.

"Hey, Usagi-san," Duo called to her, and she turn to look at him expectantly, "Uh . . . thanks. You know . . . for helping me."

She offered a blazing smile and a giggle.

"It's my job, remember? I'm here to help you guys!"

"Right," he laughed a bit, then ran up beside her, "Hey, and next time, bring me along with you, okay? It's not fair for you to have all the fun!"

* * *

After that, Usagi and Duo got along much better than they had before. The practical jokes stopped . . . well, mostly anyway, and Duo became Usagi's closest friend at the base. She still insisted that he call her Usagi-san, however.

Quatre, unlike even laid back Duo, had trusted her from they very first moment he met her, knowing what he did. But he had yet to really approached her and try to create a friendship. He wasn't certain why it seemed to be so difficult. Perhaps it was because he knew what he did about her, and still hadn't shared with the others: she was a princess.

Then, one day, just before dinner, the opportunity to interact with her was thrust into his lap and Quatre couldn't avoid it any longer. He was walking down the hallway with Trowa, both on their way to the dining room, when his eyes landed on the figure of Usagi walking ahead of them. She went along at a lazy pace, and he saw one of her hands rise to stifle the yawn that issued from her mouth. He sighed; for a princess she was very idle, and slept more often than she did anything else, save for eat. Yet for all of the things about her that could be annoying, she somehow became more endearing than anything else. Even Hiiro and Wufei seemed to be enjoying her company more, as much as either of them could enjoy anything. Quatre did, however, get the feeling that Hiiro was around her more often to observe her carefully than try and earn her friendship.

He was certain that neither he nor Trowa made a sound, or called out to her. But Usagi turned and greeted them both with a bright smile, as if she wasn't surprised at all to find them behind her. In fact, her entire reason in turning seemed to be in order to talk to them.

"Quatre-kun, Trowa-kun! Konbanwa!"

"Konbanwa to you, Usagi-san," Quatre replied with a small smile. Being the heir to a large fortune had its pros, one being a very thorough education, including foreign languages. Japanese was only one of the many languages that Quatre knew, so he was able to converse with Usagi, when he did, in her native tongue. It was odd, however, because there were certain words or phrases that he understood, but were somewhat off, as if she spoke a different dialect of Japanese than that he had learned. And he had learned all current dialects of that language.

"I'm glad to see you here," she continued, speaking Japanese, "because I knew that if you were here, Trowa-kun would be as well."

Trowa, who also spoke the language, though he couldn't recall where he had learned it, blinked in surprise. Quatre was quite astonished himself.

"What do you want with me?" Trowa asked, never uncrossing his arms, and never giving more than a raised eyebrow in expression.

"Well . . ." she paused, and even cast a glance about, as if afraid that someone might be listening in, "I think . . . I might be able to help you."

"Help me? With what?" Trowa tossed a glance at Quatre, who merely shrugged. Neither of them could dare guess at what she might mean.

"With your memories."

"Nani?!?" This shocked Trowa so much that he actually took a step backwards. Quatre stared at the girl, who only looked back at them with a calm, serene expression.

_Serene . . . Serenity . . ._

The blonde stepped forward and grasped Usagi's hand tightly, looking at her with eyes he was certain held his plea in them.

"If you can help Trowa regain his memories, we both will owe you a debt we could never repay."

She smiled at him and shook her hand from his grasp.

"Don't be silly," she giggled, "You won't owe me anything! I'm here to help you, that's why Setsuna-san brought me here, ne?"

Quatre nodded silently, watching as she stepped forward to place a hand on Trowa's forehead. Her iridescent blue eyes narrowed in concentration and her cheerful face hardened into a mask of perfect command. There was no doubt that she was indeed royalty.

"It's alright," she murmured to Trowa, "this shouldn't hurt. Just open your mind, alright?"

Trowa, who had tensed when her fingers touched his skin, relaxed at the sound of her voice. His visible emerald eye locked onto her gaze, and there passed between them a spark of something Quatre couldn't quite understand, even with his abilities. For a moment he felt a blaze of jealousy flare up in his gut, to know that Usagi and Trowa would forever share a bond because of this experience that he would never know. He quickly quelled the feeling, however, knowing that it wasn't fair to either of the two. Quatre did not know what the tall boy's feelings towards him were, but he did know that Usagi could love only one man. If Endymion were alive again, as she was, her heart belonged to him and him alone.

At least, Quatre hoped so.

In the moments while he had been lost in his own thoughts, Usagi and Trowa had not moved a muscle. Now, though, now Usagi pulled her hand away, gazing at Trowa with hope shining in her eyes. Ah, thought Quatre, even she doesn't know whether it was successful or not.

Trowa stared into her eyes, his own wide and disbelieving. He seemed unable to do such a simple thing as break eye contact with the girl of sun-gold hair. And then the most unbelievable thing happened.

A single tear slipped down his face.

Usagi smiled, knowing at that sign that she had succeeded. Quatre looked on as the girl flung her arms tightly around the tall boy, and Trowa raised his own arms stiffly to return the embrace. The brilliant green eyes lifted to gaze at the blonde, and Trowa's lips sounded out two very important, miraculous words.

_I remember . . ._

Quatre smiled, his heart filled with a joy that he'd never known before. Such a simple happiness it was, to be so glad over the return of a friend's memories. To him, however, Trowa was much more than a friend, even if the tall one never knew.

* * *

Duo insisted that they throw a party in Trowa's honor, now that the silent pilot was complete. The others, however, while happy for Trowa, did not agree. They were too close, Hiiro said, to the border of Sanch and the village where Duo had nearly been caught, to risk their safety now by making too much noise. Oh yes, they'd found out about Usagi and Duo's jaunt into that village, and both were supposed to be strictly confined to the base. Of course, there was little that could actually be done to keep the two of them locked in if they were really determined to get out.

The day after Usagi's Miracle, as Duo only half-jokingly called it, he was waiting in the forest for her to arrive. They had chosen a specific tree to meet at on days when they were going to the village, and Usagi was invariably late each time. This day was no different.

At long last he saw her golden tresses through the tree branches and leaped down from his perch to land before her. He was disappointed when she didn't scream in surprise, but merely told him to hurry up. Then again, he HAD done that every single time. Duo did realize that after so many times, Usagi was bound to begin expecting it. He sighed, and followed her.

They chatted about various things along the way, from their shared continued annoyance at Wufei and his arrogance, to their concerns about Hiiro's quiet nature, and round three of "Can Usagi catch the braid before Duo notices?" She taught him a bit more of her language, which he learned was Japanese. It was no wonder Hiiro knew it, for the stoic boy was himself Japanese and had been taught English as a small child. Quatre, of course, would have been taught languages, and Trowa had mentioned something in passing the day before about remembering traveling a lot as a child. No doubt he'd picked it up somewhere along the way. Wufei informed them that before he became a Gundam pilot he had been a scholar, and it was only natural for a scholar to learn languages other than his own, for uses in translation. Duo, it seemed, was the only pilot who spoke only one language and that was something he intended to rectify before this ordeal was over and Usagi was sent back to whatever mysterious place Setsuna had plucked her from.

They were nearly to the village when Duo's sensitive ears picked up the sound of a struggle. He frowned, thrusting a strong arm in front of Usagi to stop her from proceeding.

"What?" she asked, and he shushed her with a quick motion of his other arm. Usagi quieted, somehow knowing that when Duo was serious it was best to listen to him. After a moment he cursed under his breath and rushed forward, leaving behind a confused Usagi.

"Hey," he shouted to the two OZ soldiers who were in the middle of harassing a village girl, "I thought Sanch was a peaceful kingdom. What are you idiots doing in a place for peace, eh?"

The two looked at him, ugly scowls breaking across their faces as they pushed the girl to the ground. One of them pulled his gun and pointed it in her face to keep her still, while the other turned fully to Duo. The braided pilot saw that this soldier was at least twice his size, if not more so. He gave an impish grin, knowing that the soldier thought he had the upper hand against such a small boy.

"This isn't any business of yours, boy," the man spoke with surprising clarity, obviously educated despite his large, dumb appearance, "I suggest you take your girlfriend and leave us to our own affairs."

"Girlfriend, what?" Duo turned to see Usagi standing behind him, glaring at the two men in anger. Apparently she hadn't understood that she was supposed to remain hidden. Ah well, too late to do anything about it now. Duo looked back towards his two foes, the larger of which now looking towards Usagi with more than a passing interest. The grey eyes that sat in his face narrowed as he looked at her.

"You . . ."

"Uh oh." Usagi murmured, and Duo wanted to turn and ask her what was wrong. There was no time, however, as the large soldier shouted at his companion.

"That's the girl! The one all OZ personnel are ordered to capture on sight!" He pulled his own gun from its holster, "Forget the villager! Seize that one!"

_This is bad . . . this is VERY bad!_

The situation began to look worse as the leader pulled out a transmitter and shouted orders into it for the rest of his company to converge immediately on the spot.

"Damn!" Duo pushed Usagi back into the foliage, hoping that she would take the message and run as far away as possible. He could only wish that she would escape, for he knew he wouldn't. He took a flying leap at the large soldier, jaw and fist clenched in determination.

"Get her!" the man yelled at his subordinate seconds before Duo's fist collided with his cheek. He sputtered, blood and even a couple of teeth shooting from his mouth. Duo nursed his hand for a moment, forever surprised at how much that always hurt. Cursing between blood soaked spits, the soldier raised his gun to aim it at the boy. Duo was no fool, no matter how many times Hiiro or Usagi called him "baka," and he knew better than to stand still and wait for a bullet to hit him. Moments later the gun clattered to the packed dirt road as a result of his swift kick. Now it was the soldier who cursed and grasped his injured hand.

Behind him, Duo heard Usagi shouting indignantly, and he turned to see the first subordinate soldier and another who had appeared on the scene. Each of them had the girl by an arm, and she was kicking and screaming, putting up a rather good fight if Duo did say so himself. But more soldiers were coming, and one they arrived neither of them would have any chance. Duo took a step forward.

Bright red burst across his field of vision at the same instant a blunt pain struck him at the base of the neck. Duo fell, pushing himself up in order to see the large soldier had retrieved his gun. He'd hit Duo with the hard butt of the weapon, and Duo heard Usagi scream his name before the gun came down again and this time he blacked out.

* * *

A soft murmuring filled the air, the words dancing just outside the realm of his consciousness. The atmosphere smelled of cooked meat and fire. Behind the layer of human voices he heard the clank and clatter of dishes, and the splash of water. Where was he? Who was he? Why did his head ache so?

A moan was heard, and it took him a second to realize that it was his own. In the next moment a soft hand came to rest on his forehead, and a voice just as gentle reached his ears.

"Don't move, Shingo-kun," said the voice, "you took two hard blows. Your head will be hurting you for several days."

At long last he was able to open his eyes, and the blurred form that hovered over him slowly took a clearer shape. It was a woman, and she looked somewhat familiar, though he couldn't recall ever having met her before. He stared at her, then tried to push himself up and was rewarded when a bolt of electric hot pain shot from the back of his head down his neck and back. A cry escaped from his chapped lips and he fell back against the bed once more.

_What happened?_ He thought even as the woman began speaking again, _why does my head hurt? Who is this woman? What . . ._

_Usagi!_

Duo remembered suddenly, the soldiers, the fight, and Usagi being taken from right under his nose. He clenched a fist, the one that had struck the soldier, and cursed in his own mind. Damn it, he'd been incredibly stupid. How could he turn his back on an enemy who wasn't dead or unconscious? He'd been worried about Usagi, heard her screaming, but that was no excuse for that level of idiocy.

"Oh, and your friend is here."

_What? Friend?_

Duo carefully turned his head to look past the woman and his eyes widened when he saw Hiiro leaning against the wall, arms crossed in usual fashion.

"Hiiro!" he croaked, trying urgently once more to sit up, but was pushed back down.

"Shingo-kun! I told you to be still!"

Duo finally took a longer glance at the woman and recognized her as the older sister of Usagi's young friend, Terry. He assumed that she had seen the fight, or found him afterwards, and brought him to her home. She called him Shingo-kun as taught by Usagi, believing as the rest of the village did that he was her little brother.

"I can't," he tried to tell her, "I have to . . . I have to find her!"

"I know," her eyes became sad then, and she sighed, "I know you tried to protect your sister, but when OZ wants something, they get it. And they wanted her. Personally . . ." she sighed again and looked at him with intense brown eyes, "I say you go home and forget about it. Whatever Usagi-chan did to call OZ's attention to herself . . . well, it's just not worth you getting involved. I'm sure your parents would rather have one child safe at home than to lose both of them to OZ's wrath. Just go home, Shingo-kun, please?" Her eyes begged him, and Duo found himself agreeing with her pleading gaze, although he knew it was all a lie. He would go after Usagi, and OZ wouldn't stand a chance.

"Let me take him," came Hiiro's calm voice, and the next thing Duo knew he was being hefted up by the boy's thin but strong arms, despite the woman's protestations. Pain seared through his head, blocking out any further thought, but Duo clenched his teeth and didn't complain. He vaguely heard Hiiro assure the woman in his frank way that he would take good care of Shingo-kun, and not to worry. Then the cool air of night hit his face and the sounds of the village drifted into the background as Hiiro led him further into the forest, towards the base.

Several minutes passed in silence, while Duo tried to regain his thought and push back the pain. At last, though, Hiiro's voice cut through the hush.

"What happened?"

"OZ," Duo replied, wincing, "Two soldiers at first, attacking a village girl. I tried to stop them, they recognized Usagi-san." He paused, pained more now by the memory than his head, "They took her."

"They didn't recognize you?" Duo thought there might be a tint of surprise in the icy boy's tone.

"I don't know. I don't think so. They were lesser soldiers, probably never saw OZ's intelligence reports on us."

"Still . . ." Hiiro paused in thought, helping Duo over a fallen tree trunk, "you would think that they would still be interested in someone who attacked an OZ soldier so recklessly."

"Yeah," the braided one admitted, feeling a surge of shame.

"So why," Hiiro continued, "did they drop all interest in you in favor of Usagi-san?"

Duo raised an eyebrow. Apparently Usagi had terrorized even Hiiro into adding the –san after her name.

_Stop it, that's not important. What's important is finding Usagi and getting her back._

"They said that all OZ soldiers were ordered to capture her on sight." Duo sighed, "When we get back, you tell the others and I'll go on ahead—"

"No."

"What?!?"

"She's just a girl. She's not important. We can't risk getting captured trying to save her."

"Hiiro!" Duo latched a hand into Hiiro's shirt, his voice rising despite the pain in desperate pleadings, "What are you saying? That we just LEAVE her to OZ?!?"

"Yes."

End Chapter Seven.


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Eight**  
by Sailorcelestial

In the quiet that followed Duo's retelling of his story, no one dared to look at him. Hiiro noticed this, as he noticed most things, even if he didn't offer this knowledge. He saw Quatre lower his blonde head to place his face in waiting hands. Trowa stared into the white paint of a far wall as if Usagi was lingering there to jump out at them and say it was all a very cruel and distasteful joke. Wufei sat with his arms crossed, glancing with dark eyes between his four companions, waiting to see what they would say. They all knew that he would be the strongest advocate for Hiiro's point: they should leave the girl.

"Come on!" Duo growled with a special vehemence that shocked them all into looking up into his face. The features that normally looked so childish were twisted into a pained expression of desperation. "We CAN'T leave her! You all know it as well as I do! She's an innocent who got caught up in our fight, and we can't just let OZ have her!" He paused to look at them each in turn, asking silently if he had gotten through to them.

Hiiro sighed inwardly. Yes, she was an innocent, and it wasn't fair that she had to be sacrificed for their safety. But the fact remained that they were Gundam pilots: wanted, and destined to be executed if OZ were to find them. Usagi would most likely merely be interrogated and then released. He couldn't think of a single reason for OZ to want her, though they obviously did, let alone a reason for them to want her dead. Yes, it was better for them to leave Usagi to Oz, and save themselves.

"I can't believe you guys!"

Duo's anger was so intense that he stood to his feet in a shot without a wince although his head must have been causing him agony.

"We don't know if we can trust her—" Hiiro began, only to be interrupted.

"God damn you, Hiiro!" the braided one spat in a display of near hatred, "If there is a God, he'd damn all of you for this! SHE'S AN INNOCENT!" He stumbled a bit at his own shout, gripping his head. But he gave no cry of pain, and in a moment his steely indigo eyes had landed on Trowa. "She gave you back your memories. She helped you be a complete person again and you're going to let her be taken prisoner? Are you?!?"

Trowa blinked and looked at the floor in shame.

"We don't know if we can trust her?" Duo went on, just as fiery, "QUATRE!"

The blonde jumped to hear his name spoken so harshly.

"Y-yes?"

"What do you feel from her? Any malice? Any darkness at all? If she had any plans to harm us in any way, if we couldn't trust her, you would have told us, right? Right??"

"Duo—"

"Answer me! Is she a danger to us?"

A pause. Then, looking even more shameful than Trowa, Quatre opened his shaking lips and replied.

"No. I feel nothing but compassion, kindness, and love from her."

"Alright then," Duo seemed to calm at that, more from his own pain that Quatre's words. Just when Hiiro thought that he was done, the braided boy turned on Wufei. "You."

Even Wufei was taken off guard by that.

"What about me? I agree with Hiiro, she's a liability, nothing more. Not only that, but she is weak to have allowed herself to be caught. She should have known better than to get herself involved in a situation that she obviously couldn't handle." Wufei smirked, certain that there was no way Duo could circumvent that logic.

"She's weak, a weak woman, that's all?" Duo seethed when the black-eyed boy nodded arrogantly, "Where in your damned code of honor does it allow you to leave the weak at the mercy of the strong? Instead of abandoning an innocent person weaker than you, shouldn't you be fighting to protect her? I thought THAT was honor."

Wufei paled by several shades.

Duo spun to glare at last at Hiiro. Stoically, the pilot of Wing stared back at the braided one, who seemed finally at a loss for words. Hiiro knew what was going on in his head: What now? What possible words could he say to Hiiro Yui to make him cave in? At long last, those lips opened once more, and the words that exited were a mere whisper.

"She . . . she's an innocent, Hiiro. We protect the innocent, we don't abandon them. Is there nothing in your past that you regret enough to want to repent for it?"

A flash of memory burst into Hiiro's mind.

_A girl . . . a puppy . . . a flower . . . the base burning, the mobile suits falling . . . if only he'd been more careful . . ._

"Please . . ." he heard Duo beg him once more. Then the braided one said haltingly, in Hiiro's own language, "Onegai, Hiiro."

_No . . . we can't. It's too dangerous for us, and we are the last hope for peace. She's just a girl . .. a girl . . . an innocent girl . . ._

Not trusting his voice to speak, Hiiro gave a brief nod and a grunt as his reply. With a relieved sigh Duo sank onto the loveseat and promptly passed out.

* * *

_Damn him! Damn that braided idiot and damn the girl too!_

Two hours after Duo's scene in the living area, Wufei, was in the Gundam hanger as he always was when upset. Facing Shenlong, his Nataku, he suddenly spun in fury and slammed a fist into the nearest wall. The pain that resulted did little to quell his rising anger, however. How dare Duo speak to him like that? As if the American knew anything of honor! He placed both hands on the assaulted wall and hung his head between his arms, eyes blazing as they stared at the floor.

He had a point, a deeper part of the Chinese boy murmured to himself, honor means protecting the weak . . . and you were going to leave her to OZ. You know they have no honor.

A sigh, ever so slight, escaped from his lips.

"Thank you."

Wufei spun, hand ready to clutch his katana if necessary. He saw no one, and didn't recognize the voice. He stood in silence, dark eyes narrowed as he searched the hanger for sign of the hidden speaker. At last, from the darkness shrouding Deathscythe, stepped Duo, head wrapped in a bandage that needed changing more as the seconds slipped by. For a soundless second indigo eyes stared into black. Wufei relaxed. Despite his general dislike for Duo, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the boy was trustworthy. He piloted a Gundam, and fought against OZ, didn't he?

"Why thank me, Maxwell? You got the better of me in there. Shouldn't you be gloating?" Wufei stood tall, prepared for the snickers and the snide comments he knew were coming.

"I'm thanking you . . ." Duo paused, and Wufei suddenly understood why he had at first not recognized the boy's voice. It was deeper than before, weighted down by solemnity and dignity. "I'm thanking you for understanding," he concluded at last, sad eyes straying from Wufei's face to gaze on Deathscythe. If any of the pilots were as connected to their Gundams as Wufei, it was Duo. "You would have agreed eventually. You know much more about honor than I do," he sighed, placing a hand on the black, shiny surface of his mobile suit, halfway, it seemed to Wufei, for support, "I just had to remind you."

"No, Maxwell," Wufei replied in his usual harsh tone, for that was something he couldn't help, "I was completely in agreement with Hiiro. I would have left her." He hesitated, knowing what he had to say next, but not liking it, "If anyone should be giving thanks, I should be thanking you. For reminding me."

Duo blinked, and looked at Wufei in nothing less than shock. The black-haired boy felt his lips tilt upwards in an unwilling smile. He knew more than anyone how surprising his offered thanks had been. It surprised him as well.

"Don't look at me like that, Maxwell," he said, turning his back to walk out, "This doesn't mean that we are friends."

But the smile didn't leave his face until he was well away from the hanger.

* * *

Usagi sat in the dank cell, arms handcuffed together by the odd cuffs that certainly did look like something from the far future. She heaved a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping forward with the effort. Eyes having adjusted to the dark, she spotted the place on the nearest wall were she had been marking the hours, or at least the closest approximation she could get without a watch. Carefully she counted them. When she came up with the number thirty-five, Usagi made a face. It surely hadn't been that long. The guys wouldn't leave her here for longer than a day, she was sure of it. Most likely her impatience and discomfort made her imprisonment seem lengthier.

"Alright, minna-san," she grumbled to herself in Japanese, picturing the five boys at the base, "where are you? I think I've been waiting long enough."

"Saying your prayers, Little One?" came the sneering voice of her guard from outside. It was the same one that she had knocked unconscious with the Silver Crystal when she first appeared in this time.

"Hai," she answered, "I'm praying for you that when my friends come to rescue me, they won't hurt you TOO badly. You are, after all, just human." She heard his arrogant humph and was distinctly reminded of Wufei.

_No, even Wufei is better than this baka. At least Wufei is fighting for peace. If I can believe Setsuna-san._

"I'd be praying for myself, if I were you. At least if you continue to refuse to tell use what weapon you used against me and my soldier." His callous speech chilled her even though there was a steel door between them, "My superiors won't keep you alive as long as you refuse, if that's what you're thinking. After a while they'll get so tired of your insolence that they'll have you executed just to be rid of you."

Usagi shivered, not because the cell was cold, but because his words cast an iciness over her heart.

_Minna-san . . . Duo-kun . . . what's taking you so long?_

It was then that she remembered Setsuna's words to her regarding the Gundam pilots:

_They are kind underneath, but all are very dangerous. Until you know for certain that you have gained their trust, and that they deserve yours, never turn you back on them._

Despite herself and her vow to remain strong in the hands of the enemy, Usagi felt renegade tears spilling from her eyes. She closed them tight, trying to close back both the tears and the thoughts that caused them. Could the pilots have abandoned her? Would they? She couldn't believe it. She rejected the very idea that any of the boys would desert her, especially to OZ. There was too much kindness in them for that. She trusted them, Kami-sama help her, she trusted them.

_Duo-kun . . . I trust you!_

She took a deep breath and released it as a sigh. Yes, she trusted them all.

_Well . . . maybe not Wufei._

* * *

All of them wanted to go immediately after Usagi, but it quickly became evident that Duo was in no condition to go anywhere outside of the base, let alone into the heart of battle. Hiiro, in his quiet way, backed by Trowa and surprisingly Wufei, ordered the braided one to his room for two days of bed rest.

"We need the time anyway," Hiiro had said, "to find out which base they're keeping her at."

"And you'd be no use to her like you are," Trowa added quietly.

"So you might as well just lie down, be quiet, and leave all of the work to us until you can stand without swaying." Wufei growled, arms crossed, no trace of the friendly smile left on his face.

So Duo lie in bed, arms folded gingerly behind his head, indigo eyes staring upwards at the ceiling. His mind rolled back a day. He saw only Usagi's face, twisted in fear as it had been the moment before he had blacked out. A large, poisonous ball of guilt rolled up in his chest and began to eat away at him from the inside out. Over and over Duo cursed himself for being stupid, for turning too soon, for getting involved in the fight in the first place, for not taking the large soldier out completely. This was all he had to do all day.

Without warning Trowa's face appeared in his line of vision.

"AAHH!" Duo jumped and whacked his head on the headboard, "OOWW!!" His howl of pain was enough to make Trowa wince.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, right! Sure, I know that this is what you all do for fun! Go on, surprise Duo, make him blackout from pain! It'll be a riot!"

Trowa stared at him in silence. He waited until the braided one calmed down before he handed forth a sheet of paper, freshly printed from Hiiro's computer screen.

"We found her."

Duo snatched the paper away from Trowa's outstretched hand. It was a map, showing the two closest OZ bases. One of them had been circled in red, no doubt by Hiiro's precise hand.

"You sure this is the right one?"

Trowa nodded.

"Absolutely sure?"

Trowa nodded.

"Beyond a shadow of a doubt?"

Trowa nodded. Again. And something sparking in his emerald eye made Duo shut up.

"It's the closest. From your story it's the only place they could have taken her, because they weren't in Sanch for military reasons. They probably were only looking for supplies and to make trouble. Therefore they wouldn't have had the manpower or the equipment to travel from any of the other two bases." Trowa tossed him a glance, "That is, if your story checks out."

"Why wouldn't it?" Duo asked furiously through clenched teeth.

"You took two blows to the head, Duo," Trowa replied, "It's enough to cause anyone to forget details. It wouldn't be your fault if you were wrong about something."

Duo crossed his arms and sat back, his ire assuaged by Trowa's explanation, although he still felt a bit as if it had been meant as an insult. The tall boy stood by quietly, as if knowing somehow that Duo was far from finished. At long last the braided one looked up with one eye and pursed his lips in seeming thought. When he spoke again his voice had returned to normal. Or what was normal for Duo.

"So, when are we going? It'll be good to pilot Deathscythe again, it's been way too long!"

"We'll leave as soon as you seem to be ready—"

"Ready? I'm ready! I've been ready ever since that OZ bastard hit me and took Usagi-san!"

"—and we won't be taking the Gundams. At least not all of them."

"WHAT?!? What do you mean 'not all of them'? How—"

This time, however, was Trowa's turn to interrupt.

"Hiiro will be the only one piloting a suit," he said in his monotone, "he will go first, as a diversion. Wufei and I will fight on the ground while you and Quatre infiltrate in the ensuing panic and find Usagi-san." He handed Duo another sheet, this one a schematic of the interior of the OZ base. "You'll see that the prisoners wing has been marked. That is your destination."

Duo shook his head, impressed.

"Is there anything that guy can't do?" he muttered to himself, thinking of Hiiro and his amazing laptop.

"I doubt it," Trowa replied, completely serious. The he turned and walked out in order to leave Duo to his thoughts.

"Well," Duo spoke aloud, not wishing just yet to go back into complete silence, "seems like they've got this all worked out. Without me." He gave a sigh and gazed on the floor plans before him, memorizing it with his sharp, trained mind, "Looks like I'm the useless one. They worked out a perfect plan without my help, and could probably pull it off without me too." It crossed his mind for the briefest of seconds that perhaps if he were expendable, he should just leave and let the others continue on without him.

_No,_ was his next, immediate thought, _I want to see Usagi-san freed._ Then a wicked grin spread over his childish features, _And kicking a little OZ ass while I at it would certainly be an added bonus._

* * *

"What was the weapon?!?"

Usagi's head jerked to the side with the force of the officer's backhanded slap. Vaguely, through a haze, she felt the chair she was tied to begin to topple over sideways, and she wondered if they would return her to her cell if she fell over. The soldier behind her caught the chair, however, and she was returned to the safety of a straight sitting position.

"You're starting to annoy me, girl," the officer growled. He was quite strong and intimidating despite a small and wiry build. Usagi managed a pained smile through her busted lip as she thought that he must have looked something like Umino when he was younger. She was rewarded with another furious backhand. She felt her face swelling on either side due to the numerous hits and slaps she'd taken in the past hour. "Tell me what weapon you used!"

"Weapon?" she murmured groggily, "You must have the wrong girl, I don't have a weapon. I'm just a normal girl . . . normal . . ." a sob shook from her chest at the utterance of her most cherished dream: to be a normal teenager.

"Normal," he scoffed, picking up a vicious looking stick from the desk behind him, "You're about as normal as the freaks that sit in circus tents and expect to be paid for their abnormalities. You're disgusting. But OZ is determined to know the nature of that weapon you used against our soldiers, or see you dead if you don't tell us." He slapped the carefully carved and treated wooden stick against his hand, beady eyes glinting maliciously from behind oval-shaped glasses, "So start talking. Or I can beat you to death right here."

She coughed. Then, ever so slowly, Usagi lifted her face to gaze serenely at this monster of a man and smiled as well as she could.

"Could I have something to eat? I'm starving."

She saw his mouth twist in rage, and his arm flew up, prepared to bring his shiny baton down on her head and end her existence. Usagi sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for the blow that never came. When again she opened her eyes, the officer was paused in position, gaze thoughtful. Finally he slammed the stick back down on the desk and waved at the two soldiers flanking her to take her away.

"I'll try again in a few hours," he said, "One more time. Only once more."

Usagi felt herself being untied, then lifted from the seat and carried by her elbows down one of the many identical corridors that made this place a maze. Her head fell forward, chin resting on her chest as she let them carry her.

What had this been? Number three? Since her arrival she had been interrogated a questionable number of times, each one more violent than the last. Judging from the level of suffering she felt now, Usagi knew that the next time likely would be the last, as the officer had asserted. He would kill her next time for certain, whether on purpose or simply from the sheer intensity of his attack.

She heard the hiss of a cell door sliding open and in the next second was being dumped carelessly on the hard floor, left to her own agony.

Minutes passed, and once she was certain that neither of her escorts still waited outside, she allowed all of her pain out in the form of tears. The moisture dripped from her eyes down her cheeks, cleansing away the dirt and blood in their path. This was not her usual crying; this was the soul-tearing sobs of a person in deep misery physically, mentally, and emotionally. Ribbons of torment slid through her body as it shook with the strength of her sorrow, pain from each and every cut, bruise, or possibly broken rib.

Her thoughts wandered to her home, her friends, and Mamoru. What were they doing now? Did they even miss her? Were they alive to miss her? These thoughts only made her sobs harder, and the pain became so intense that she barely even felt it anymore.

_Kami-sama, w-what have I done to deserve this? Who are these horrible people? I don't think I can take much more! Oh please . . . let them kill me next time._

* * *

"We can't wait much longer," Quatre told the assemble pilots, voice cracking as he closed his eyes, "I feel it, she's in pain. Who knows what they're doing to her."

Hiiro felt a brief, weak pang of guilt at the blonde's words. He had thought for certain that Usagi would be released. Obviously he, Hiiro Yui, the Perfect Soldier, had been gravely wrong. So mistaken that if Duo had not convinced them to rescue her, it might have cost her life. Who knows, their necessary delay might already be enough to sign her death warrant. She might be dying even as they sat there speaking.

"Quatre's right," Duo said, unwrapping his bandages, "We have to go now, no more waiting."

"But Duo—"

"But nothing, Quatre. I'm fine. I'm not going to die any time soon. She might, if we wait any longer." He stood, dropping the gauze strips to the ground with careless abandon. "I suggest Hiiro take Wing up, 'cause I'm leaving now and not one of you can stop me. I'd like to see you try."

None of them did as he turned and walked away, no doubt to get his silver pistol and a few other essential items he would need. They passed a glance amongst themselves and Quatre was the first to get up and go after Duo. Trowa rose and left to gather his own supplies, while Wufei went to sharpen his katana one last time before leaving.

Hiiro stayed behind a few more moments, a frown weighing the corners of his mouth downwards.

_That baka is going to get us all killed one of these days,_ he thought, _His courage borders too much on stupidity._

Then Hiiro pushed himself from the chair and headed towards the hanger and Wing.

End Chapter Eight


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Nine**  
by Sailorcelestial

The door opened, much too early for Usagi's liking, and the guards returned to carry her to her doom. She even helped them, able to walk somewhat after the rest. She wanted this over as soon as possible. She wanted to be in the Afterlife, calm, without pain, waiting patiently for her Mamo-chan to be with her again.

_Gomen nasai, Chibiusa . . . it looks like your existence will be erased now._

The journey down the corridor was as silent and as long as ever. She spent these minutes, the last of her life as she saw them, remembering her home and her family and friends. Then she thought of the pilots, who apparently had failed to rescue her, for whatever reason. Her heart, in its kindness and trusting nature, wouldn't allow her to believe that it was because they hadn't tried.

Without warning the building shook as though in a vicious earthquake, and Usagi was flung from the guards unprepared fingers. Her head hit the corridor wall, but she barely noticed. It was only another pain added to that which already burned through her body. She didn't even try to get up and run away.

"What was that?" she heard one guard ask the other before another intense tremor shook them to their knees again.

They had a point; what was it causing the shaking? She really didn't care.

"What are you idiots doing?" called the impatient and rather unpleasant voice of the stick-wielding officer from behind them, "Don't you realize that we're under attack?!? Pick her up and take her to the interrogation room! We'll get that information from her before they find her, or kill her first!"

_Yes . . . kill me._

She hadn't even noticed the other words he spoke.

"It's a Gundam. Those pilots must be here for her! She said she had friends who were coming to rescue her."

"B-but a Gundam, sir?" stammered a guard.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" the officer shrieked with a whap of his stick on the guard's shoulder. Then he prodded the other less than gently, "Go on, pick her up!"

The guards obeyed, lifting a barely conscious Usagi from her place on the ground. They rushed as fast as they could with their burden and within moments had plopped her into the lone chair that sat in the all too familiar room. Usagi was almost happy to see it, like an old friend.

"Konnichiwa . . ." she murmured, although she didn't know whether it was morning, afternoon, or evening.

"Quiet!" The sharp command was followed by the crack of the stick connecting with her jaw. She even winced at this new pain, but something instinctual told her that no matter how hard he seemed to have hit her, her jaw wasn't broken. Not yet. If he broke her jaw, she wouldn't be able to speak, and he wasn't ready yet to let her off that easily. "Now, for the last time, little girl, tell me what your weapon was! If you don't tell me, your friends will have come to save a corpse!"

She kept her head bowed and didn't say a word.

"Fine!" the officer seethed, raised his arm, and this time Usagi knew there would be no pause.

The distinct sound of a gunshot resounded through the small room, and a bullet hole sprang from nowhere in the wall near the officer's head.

"Not to sound cliché or anything," came a unique voice, one that registered in Usagi's mind slowly, "but I won't miss next time."

"Who the hell are you?" growled Lieutenant Stick, face contorted into an expression on pure rage. Usagi lifted her head gently and turned it to see a shadow in the doorway, features blurred by the light from behind it or from her own failing vision, or perhaps both. At either side of the door lie the bodies of the two guards.

"Don't you know? I'm Shinigami, asshole."

The officer scoffed, which seemed to be his favorite gesture.

"Shinigami . . . right. Well, Sir God of Death, here's a gift from me to you."

With that, and a cold, cruel grin, he brought his stick arm hurtling downwards towards Usagi's head.

Another shot, and she saw the form of her tormentor fly backwards, weapon propelled through the air as his grip loosened.

"Told you I wouldn't miss," said the mysterious figure, and the voice became more and more familiar, "See you in Hell," he muttered, and at last a name came to her.

"D-Duo-kun . . ."

"Hey," his voice softened, and she opened her eyes again to see him kneel in front of her. His eyes grew dark as he gazed on her bruised and battered face. Then he scowled, "Damn them, how could they do this?" She felt his arms push behind her back and underneath her knees and suddenly she was being lifted again, only this time in a gentle cradle.

"How is she?" came a quieter speech from the doorway.

"Beaten pretty bad," Duo replied to the person Usagi couldn't quite make out. Stupid light. "You were right, Quatre, he was going to kill her. If we'd waited any longer . . ."

"No time for that, we have to get her out of here so the others can retreat."

"Right."

Usagi relaxed in Duo's arms, even though in her mind there was the image of a man, cruel but human, falling backwards, with blood spurting from his chest.

* * *

Duo dared to peer downwards at Usagi again, and flinched at the sight of her. A blossom of dark purple surrounded her right eye, and a cut that was never cleaned left a trail of dry blood down her cheek from her eyebrow. More, smaller bruises decorated her pale skin, and an angry red welt was beginning to rise where Duo imagined that officer had hit her with his stick.

"Duo," Quatre called to him softly, and the braided one snapped himself from his angry trance.

"Yeah, I'm coming."

Another shock wave went through the building, sending Duo hurtling into the nearest wall. He managed to turn so that his back would hit and Usagi wouldn't, but he saw her wince with the impact anyway.

"I think Hiiro's getting a little carried away up there," he growled, "he's forgotten that we're in here too!"

"It's possible."

It was then that they broke into the air outside, evening air, the setting sun casting an eerie pinkish orange glow over the chaotic battle scene before them.

OZ soldiers were running and stumbling all over the place, some of them with sense enough to grab for guns, but most of them were just rookies who were too green to know any better than to run around in a panic. Duo almost felt sorry for them. Almost. They WERE OZ, after all. They'd chosen this destiny for themselves.

"It's too thick," Quatre said, holding his gun with an expertise one wouldn't expect of this quiet, polite boy unless they really knew him, "Too many soldiers who know what they're doing. Trowa and Wufei aren't going to be able to hold them all back. Even Hiiro can't; he has to be too careful about where he's shooting," on cue a bright yellow bolt shot through the sky and exploded down upon the base, "We'll have to fight to get through."

"Luckily the truck isn't too far away," Duo said, referring to the vehicle he had managed to borrow from one of the villagers.

"I'll go ahead of you and clear a path. You can't shoot with her in your arms."

Duo nodded in agreement. He crouched as well as he could, ready to sprint through the upheaval after Quatre. Two seconds passed as the blonde waited for the perfect moment . . . three . . . four . . .

At second five, Usagi suddenly gave a cry and squirmed from Duo's grasp, heading out across the battle on her own, towards who knew what.

"Usagi-san!"

But she wasn't listening to him.

"DAMN!"

* * *

Wufei never knew what happened, why he tried to swipe his blade when he should have ducked. It wasn't a mistake he normally would have made; it was amateurish really. Perhaps it was fate, though.

When he found his wrist caught in his opponents hand, he knew that somehow he had lost this fight. A growl began to rise but was cut off when the soldiers elbow came crashing into his throat. His dark eyes widened and he fell, choking miserably, unable to breathe for the pain that lanced through his neck. He knew he had to get up or this would be the last battle he would ever see. But he couldn't seem to make his limbs work; all he could do was cough, choke, and try to pull air past his screaming throat into his lungs.

"Heh, I'll get a promotion for this for sure," rumbled the deep voice of the soldier from above. Through pain blurred vision Wufei looked up and saw a gun barrel pointed straight at him. In a second his face would be a mess of blood and bullets. "Dead Gundam pilot, comin' right up."

Wufei glared up at him, refusing to shut his eyes like a coward at his own death.

Then a pale golden bundle crashed into the soldier, knocking him to the ground. Wufei heard a THUD that could be mistaken for nothing other than the soldier's head hitting the hard concrete. Then a horribly battered face moved to hover over him. With the chaos still humming around them, Usagi reached forward to help him.

"Stop moving," she murmured to him gently, only to have him slap her hand away violently.

"Leave me alone, Onna!" he choked on the words, sending him into another coughing fit. He felt her hands grab his shoulders and push him back down to the pavement. He tried to growl, but only ended up with a strangled sound that was nothing like what he'd wanted. He felt her touch at his throat, ever so light, and the muscles relaxed, leaving him free to breathe without effort again.

"I know you don't like me," she said, and he sensed the exhaustion and pain in her voice, "I'm not quite sure why, though." She extended a hand to him, but he refused, pushing himself up on his own. "And I've never understood how a man can be so stupid as to refuse help, just because it's from a female."

"Onna . . ." he began, but thought better of it, and turned to the fallen soldier. The rise and fall of the man's chest showed him to be still alive. Wufei retrieved his katana from the ground and prepared to finish him off.

A strong hand on his wrist stopped him.

In shock he looked to Usagi. He never thought she had such strength in her small, feminine body, especially in her current condition. But there she was, standing beside him, hand clenched tightly around his wrist, bruised face set into a hard, determined expression.

"Don't kill him."

"What?!?"

"I said don't kill him," she repeated, slowly, firmly, "I have never in my life killed a human being, and while I'm here, neither will you."

Wufei's mouth fell open in utter amazement. How dare she tell him not to kill! It was his mission, his duty as long as OZ was in power or he died, whichever came first. But she stared at him with her electric blue eyes, eyes that held in them secrets and power and ever so much more than Wufei had ever thought could be within the eyes of a woman. He wondered for a moment if she even realized the power of her gaze. This was a girl who, despite her age, was used to her orders being obeyed. Neither of them moved even as Duo and Quatre finally made their way through the battle towards them. Both of them stood in silence, waiting to see who would win this battle of wills.

At last he nodded, a barely perceptible movement, but she saw and released him. Usagi sighed, then fell forward in a dead faint. Wufei caught her, more out of a natural reaction than any actual desire to do so. After a surprised moment he bent down to pick her up properly, cradling her limp form much the same way Duo had earlier. Speaking of the braided one, he glared at Wufei in something akin to jealousy.

Trowa ran up to them, placing a hand on Quatre's shoulder.

"I'm out of bullets," he said softly, "If we plan to leave, now would be the time."

"I've still got ammo," Duo said, turning back to the crowd of soldiers, some of them converging on the pilot's meeting place, "You guys make a run for it and I'll keep 'em back." Trowa pulled Quatre away as an agreement, but before Wufei could follow, Duo gripped his arm, "She'd better get there alive," he said, voice sharp, "If she doesn't, you'll find out what I can really do."

Wufei jerked his arm away and didn't even bother to respond. He turned away and ran towards the waiting truck to the sound of Duo's gunshots behind him. A few times he was barely missed by enemy bullets, seeing the trees that bordered the base take the shots for him. And he cursed Duo each time that happened for not paying enough attention.

When he reached the truck he handed Usagi up to Trowa, then climbed into the back himself. Quatre sat behind the wheel, waiting for Duo, who was just now appearing through the trees, shooting off the last of his ammunition. The braided one fired his last bullet then turned and ran full force, leaping into the truck bed just in time to avoid getting shot in the leg. Instantly Quatre stepped on the gas pedal and they went flying through the trees, travelling over the path the pilots had cleared earlier.

Duo sat up and leaned against the upright tailgate, looking back over the fiery remains of the OZ base. He grinned.

"Chaos. Panic. Disorder. My work is done here."

Wufei groaned.

* * *

They arrived at their own base approximately five minutes after Hiiro returned in Wing, and they found him waiting outside standing alongside Setsuna. The woman was dressed strangely, however, in a short-skirted sailor outfit, with a tiara perched on her forehead. In her right hand she held a large key-shaped staff. Her expression was hard, set into what Quatre thought was anger, though he couldn't be certain. She was so difficult to read. Things looked even worse when Duo picked up the unconscious Usagi and carried her from the truck.

"What happened," Setsuna asked, and Quatre became positive beyond a doubt that she was definitely angry. Incensed was more like it. Her voice was so cold, unlike before when it had been kind.

"It's my fault," Duo immediately spoke up, and from the look on his face he believed in his guilt, "She was captured by OZ," his voice cracked a bit, and he cleared his throat, "They beat her. I don't know why."

"I do," she said, stepping forward to examine the girl. Her expression grew darker with each bruise that marred Usagi's face.

"Why?"

"Nothing that is important to you," Setsuna spat at him. Instantly she looked sorry for her outburst, but she didn't apologize. None of them asked her again. "I should have known better . . ." she sighed and turned away.

"Better than what?" Wufei stepped forward, looking none too pleased himself, "Than to bring a weak and utterly untrained girl into the heart of a war? Is that it? She has absolutely nothing to give to us, she can't even protect herself against two men! What on Earth where you thinking when you brought her here, Onna?!?"

"WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?" Setsuna thundered, and for a moment it seemed her anger echoed off of the valley walls and intensified, "I was thinking that I would save your lives! You have no idea what Usagi-chan has gone through! She has seen and done much more than any teenager should ever have to, much like the five of you! And as for her not being able to protect herself," she growled, then stalked right up to Wufei and stared down at him, maroon eyes flashing with an odd and enraged light, "Did you ever think of teaching her how to protect herself? You've had a month here with her, what did the five of you do with that time? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I'm disappointed," she sighed, resting her forehead in one hand, "How are you ever going to save a world and colonies if you can't even think to teach ONE person how to defend themselves?"

They didn't reply, merely looked at her. Even Wufei and Hiiro quailed under this assault, knowing the woman to be right. Duo cursed under his breath and Quatre nearly burst into tears from guilt. Only Trowa remained completely stoic, perhaps only because he was so practiced at it.

"You can't stay here anymore," Setsuna finally said when she spoke again, "OZ will be looking for her and for you now that you've taken her from them. They'll search this entire area."

"Where do we go?" Quatre sniffled, yet to regain control over himself.

Setsuna paused and tapped her staff against the ground thoughtfully before replying.

"Quatre, you and Hiiro must go into the Sanch Kingdom and ask the princess for political asylum."

"WHAT?!?"

"It will work, Duo," she turned to the braided one, "trust me."

"But why Quatre and Hiiro?" Wufei asked, having quickly regained his mask of arrogance.

"I say again, trust me. It's the way it must be." Setsuna took a deep breath and offered them a rare smile, "Hiiro, Quatre, leave tonight and you will arrive at the palace by morning. Ask to see the princess, and Hiiro, only you give your name."

"But—"

"Do I have to say it again?"

"No . . ."

"Good. The rest of you keep Usagi here until you here word from them. If OZ comes close, hide in the trees—"

"We know how to hide," Wufei snapped impatiently. This time Setsuna didn't shout or even frown at him. It seemed she'd lost most of her anger.

"Good. I expect Usagi to be alive and safe next time I return." She turned to leave, then, as if caught by some last minute thought, she spoke over her shoulder, "Oh, and don't think that you can threaten me into telling what I know."

Quatre saw both Wufei and Hiiro scowl at that, but he had to smile. Setsuna had known about their plan to try and kill her all along. When he looked back to ask her a question, the woman was gone. He sighed. If only they could come and go like that, infiltrating and escaping OZ would never be a problem.

* * *

As instructed by their mysterious benefactor, Quatre and Hiiro left that night to sneak into the Sanch Kingdom and ask the princess for political asylum. It had taken some convincing on Quatre's part, but at last Hiiro had agreed to go. But before they left, the brown-haired boy had made a very good point.

_I thought there was no royalty in Sanch Kingdom. When did they get a princess?_

* * *

Long into the night Duo stayed up in Usagi's room, tending her wounds, making a cold cloth to go over her bruises for comfort, and merely assuring himself that she was back, and alive. He'd seen Quatre and Hiiro leave from her bedroom window, and now he watched the moon as it trekked across the sky in its invisible pathway. He didn't know exactly when, but perhaps somewhere around four in the morning his indigo eyes finally began to droop. He jerked his head up, determined to stay awake and protect her, like he hadn't been able to do in the village.

To keep himself busy, Duo decided to take the time to go down to the kitchen and trade the old bowl of warm water for a fresher, cool one. He carefully removed the cloth from her head and quietly left the room, closing the door only partially behind him.

Outside he stretched his limbs and neck, working out the kinks that were the result of sitting in a chair for hours on end. Once his legs were useful for walking again, Duo journeyed through the halls and corridors, arriving in the kitchen with a large yawn. A short, sharp pain went through his head to remind him that he himself wasn't exactly in tip top shape yet either. The pain also brought back the memory that plagued him: turning around too soon, getting himself hit and Usagi captured.

He dropped the bowl into the sink in disgust. Placing his hands on the counter, Duo hung his head and squeezed his eyes shut tightly against the guilty tears that sprang up, screaming to be released.

"Damn it," he muttered, "It's my fault. Me and my stupid self!"

Without thinking, he swiped his arm across the counter top, sending glasses, bowls, and plates flying through the air and crashing to the floor. A moment passed in silence when he realized that he might have woken the others. He stood perfectly still for a minute, and when he decided that all was still quiet, he turned and sank to the floor, resting his arms on his bent knees. At last, he began to speak again, but this time not to himself.

"God . . . I know it's been a while . . . hell, I've never prayed, have I? Well . . . uh, could you forgive me for that just long enough to listen for a while? If you're even there," he quickly amended, for it was difficult to go from disbelief to belief in a moment's time, "I just . . . I feel so guilty about Usagi-san. I know it was my fault, and I'm not begging you to forgive that or anything. No . . . I deserve whatever punishment I'm going to get for being stupid. But . . ." he paused, wondering what he was doing, sitting in the middle of a kitchen floor amongst broken dishes praying to a God he'd never believed in before. Should he even continue? "Please God, if you're there, if you have any compassion at all, let me be stronger next time! Let me be able to protect her, to make up for my stupidity now! Please!!"

He fell into silence, waiting. He didn't know exactly what it was he waited for. Confirmation, perhaps, that his prayer had been heard and answered. He waited a very long time on that kitchen floor, and there was no bolt of lightening or booming voice, or even a sense of overwhelming peace. There was just . . . nothing.

"Ah, fuck God," he snarled, pushing himself up from the ground.

* * *

Wufei stood outside the kitchen door. Perhaps he'd been the only one to hear the shattering of dishes, but he doubted it. He was simply the only one paranoid enough to have to get up and see what it had been. He caught himself wondering briefly about Trowa's skills. If the tall boy was willing to let anything suspicious happen without investigating . . .

"Ah, fuck God."

Duo's last, angry words brought Wufei out of his thoughts.

To hear the braided one pray . . . it was extremely odd. Each of them knew a bit about each other's pasts, but not enough to truly understand each other. Wufei knew that Duo wore his hair in that braid and wore that ridiculous looking collar for a specific reason, but it had never been through faith in God, the black-eyed boy was certain of that. The only god that Duo seemed to believe in was himself as Shinigami. So what was going through that braided baka's head that caused him to pray? Was it the girl? Why was she so important to him?

As his mind trailed to Usagi, Wufei suddenly realized something, and cursed under his breath.

Setsuna didn't know what had happened to Usagi! Even her vision of the future was distorted! Otherwise she would have seen Usagi's capture and moved to stop it. It made him extremely uneasy that even the Guardian of Time was completely in the dark about the future.

What did that mean for them?

End Chapter Nine.


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Ten**  
by Sailorcelestial

"Stay back," Hiiro ordered quietly, crouching down in the underbrush. Quatre nodded and echoed the stoic boy's movement, blue eyes scanning the horizon for signs of what Hiiro saw. While Sanch did not have a military to speak of, they did allow OZ troops within their borders as long as none of the soldiers caused any trouble. So the two pilots still had to be very careful about travel and exposing themselves.

It was nearly a week since the day they'd rescued Usagi from the clutches of their enemy. If they had taken the shorter route through Sanch they would have been in the capitol the morning after, as Setsuna had said. But Hiiro, who was wary of this entire expedition to begin with, had insisted that they travel in a spiral about the location of the palace, finally arriving from the opposite direction than if they'd come straight from the base. The Wing pilot also refused to stop in villages along the way to look for shelter or food. Quatre thought that Hiiro was perhaps a bit too paranoid, but knew that the boy was only trying to keep them both safe. However, the blonde's stomach grumbled to remind him of his diet of edible nuts and berries.

"It's alright," Hiiro finally said, standing and tucking his gun back into . . . Quatre blinked, realizing that he had no idea where Hiiro always pulled that gun from. He didn't ask, however. He didn't really want to know.

"What did you see?"

"Thought I saw OZ troops," he replied shortly, as was his custom.

Quatre sighed as Hiiro led the way forward. Not only had the good-natured pilot been deprived of good food, but also of decent human interaction. Hiiro slept, ate, and marched. The only time he ever spoke was to warn Quatre if he saw something. The young Winner couldn't imagine what it might be like to be Hiiro, to never have a friend to confide in. Normally his empathic gift only picked up emptiness from Hiiro, but every so often he thought he felt a bit of . . . loneliness.

_Are you so lonely because you make that loneliness yourself? Or is it something that was forced on you?_

Quatre was determined that he would become a friend for Hiiro. Even the Perfect Soldier had need for companionship every once in a while, he was sure of it. But now was not the time to begin, for . . .

"There's the palace," Hiiro motioned to the large, yet simply constructed building nestled between a town on one side and a forest on the other three. Hiiro was scowling ever so slightly, and Quatre soon saw why.

His plan to approach the palace from the opposite direction of the base wouldn't work. There was only one direction that it was possible to come at the palace, and that was the front, from the town. If the situation were different they would quietly infiltrate from one of the forested sides, but the situation was what it was. They were going to ask for political asylum, and it wouldn't look very good for them to do so after invading the royal palace of Sanch.

"We have to slip into the town unnoticed," Quatre said, "so that the guards at the gates won't be able to tell from what direction we really came."

Hiiro nodded, offering one of his affirmative grunts. He agreed.

As it turned out, blending in with the inhabitants of Sanch's capitol, so long as they kept their weapons concealed, wasn't very difficult at all. The people were extremely happy and smiled to each other, tipping their hats or curtsying. Quatre smiled despite himself, finding the peace and tranquillity of this place the embodiment of a deeply desired dream of his. He hadn't known that such a place existed anywhere, let alone right smack in the middle of the Earthsphere. He'd thought the planet to be too riddled with war and the hunger for power to have anywhere as peaceful as this.

_Whoever this princess is, she's doing a wonderful job of keeping the peace._

Quatre found himself wishing he could stay forever in this calm kingdom for the rest of his days and never again worry about going to battle or killing. Though his heart ached with the realization, his head knew that such a wish would not be granted. At least not until OZ was completely defeated.

He dared a glance to Hiiro, finding to his quiet amusement that the boy wasn't reacting as well to the amiability of the citizens as himself. Hiiro had a muted scowl plastered on his face, which only deepened every time someone smiled at him. Quatre assumed it was because he was so unused to smiling or having someone smile at him. The blonde thought to himself that a stay in the Sanch Kingdom might do Hiiro some good.

It seemed like at least an hour before they wound their way through the entire town and finally found themselves standing before the great iron gates of the Sanch Palace. A guard stood at either side, but neither looked ready to fight with anyone. In fact, they both smiled at the two approaching boys and one asked them very congenially what their business was in Sanch. Quatre and Hiiro both blinked at the guards who seemed to not believe that anyone would ever actually try to get into the palace who didn't belong.

"We're here to ask the princess for political asylum," Quatre replied to the man's question. The two guards looked at each other in surprise. Did they even know what political asylum was?

"Well," the one on the right pursed him lips in thought, "I don't have any idea why two boys like yourselves would have need of such a request . . . but I'll go inside and see if the princess can receive you at the moment." He turned to open the gates but paused and looked over his shoulder at them, "Who may I tell her is requesting an audience?"

Silence. Quatre elbowed Hiiro in the side.

"Hiiro Yui," the boy grunted, tossing his companion an annoyed glance. The guards blinked, then broke into disturbingly knowing grins.

"Ah, so _you're_ Hiiro Yui, eh?" asked Left Guard.

Hiiro lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh, then we don't need to ask!" Right Guard laughed and opened the gate wide, motioning for the two of them to go inside, "Her Highness will see you even if Treize himself were here!"

Quatre and Hiiro moved forward, glancing to each other uneasily as they passed through the gates. What had THAT been about?

* * *

Usagi vaguely felt the hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake. But she didn't want to wake up. She wanted to stay in the wonderful painless oblivion of sleep. Even the dream world had been kind enough to leave her alone for the past week, letting her sleep without the nightmares she had been so sure were coming.

"Go away, Duo-kun," she murmured, knowing who it was. Duo had been hovering over her like a worried mother hen, and she was getting sick of it.

"I'm not Duo," growled a gruff voice, "Now get up."

Confused, Usagi opened one eye and peered up into the scowling face of Wufei. She sighed and rolled her eye.

"What do you want?"

"You're starting your training today."

"Wha? Training? What are you talking about?" she yawned and turned over, pulling the sleeping bag up to her chin. No sooner had she finally gotten comfortable again than Wufei's rough hand jerked the material away from her, unzipping the bag.

"You'll see when you get up."

"But, I still hurt . . ."

"I know, but you've healed enough. We can't wait any longer to start training you. We've already had two close calls and Hiiro and Quatre aren't back yet. We don't know what has happened to them and we might have to go after them. You have to learn how to protect yourself, otherwise you'll just be a burden to us." That said, Wufei reached a hand downward in an offer to help her up.

Usagi, realizing that he was right despite herself, pushed herself into a sitting position and grasped his strong hand. He pulled her to her feet most ungently then handed her a bundle of clothes.

"What's this?" she asked, blinking dumbly.

"You can't train in that," he replied, motioning towards the school uniform she still wore, "Those are more suitable clothes." He stood back and crossed his arms, waiting. Usagi glared at him. He glared back.

"Do you MIND?!?"

Wufei tilted his head to the side, brow furrowed in confusion.

"I need to change . . ."

Usagi was almost amused at the faint blush that tinted his face as it finally dawned on him what she was talking about. But she was more amazed that he even had the decency to blush at all. He turned quickly, and she even thought that he closed his eyes. She slipped behind a tree and first unfolded the bundle he'd given her. It consisted of a light grey cotton tank top and olive green pants, a belt, and a pair of shiny black boots. She couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the sheer ugliness of the ensemble. Ah well. She stripped off her uniform quickly, just in case Duo DID decide to come around. She had no fear of Wufei peeking. For all of his arrogance, she knew him to be better than that. Usagi was just pulling the boots on over her pants when Wufei's voice cut through the silence.

"I . . . never did thank you."

"For what?" she asked absentmindedly, tugging the right boot on with some difficulty.

"For . . . uh . . . s-saving my life," he stuttered out, as if the words themselves were fighting to remain unspoken. He was not used to giving thanks, apparently, especially not to a female. He probably had never been saved before, Usagi reasoned.

"You don't have to thank me," she said, standing and brushing the dirt and leaves from her rear. She picked up the messy pile that was her uniform and walked back around. Wufei still stood with his back to her, arms crossed. She walked in front of him and saw that his eyes were indeed closed.

"I didn't say I was going to," he said a bit loudly, thinking she was still behind the tree.

"Good," she gave a smile when his eyes flew open and he stumbled back, surprised. Usagi giggled and took his hand to pull him forward, for it seemed that now his legs were locked in place. "C'mon, let's go. You said you were going to train me, right?"

"R-right."

She released his hand and Wufei started forward, leading her deeper into the trees than their small camp. Usagi followed him quietly, feeling immensely proud of herself for being able to wrest a partial thanks at least from this most disagreeable of her five charges. She truly didn't require a thanks, as she had told him, but the fact that he had almost given one was proof that she was still doing her job.

Without warning Wufei stopped and Usagi had to screech to a halt to keep from running into him. When she at last had her balance she peered around him to see just where they were.

It was a small clearing within the forest. Usagi had been too immersed in her own pain to notice when her companions took turns scouting for a decent place to train. The first thing she saw was Trowa sitting off to her right, cleaning what looked to be a very big and very dangerous gun. She gulped; she'd had enough of guns for a lifetime. To her left she spied a section of the ground that had been cleared of leaves and marked in a circle with large stones. No one occupied that area, and Usagi assumed it had been set aside for Wufei.

The most striking image in the entire clearing, however, was Duo. He occupied the area directly in front of her and in his hands he held a thick, strong wooden staff that had no doubt been cut by Wufei's katana. Usagi's eyes widen as she watched him. Graceful was too crude a word to describe the sweeping fluidity with which he moved. The staff jabbed out into the air, creating a whistling sound in its swiftness, and the next moment it swung about to Duo's other side, stopping there with a suddenness that made Usagi jump. Though she knew it to be a dangerous fighting skill, the Deathscythe pilot's motion seemed to her more a dance. As he passed his stave through the air again and again in practiced rhythm, Duo's face was locked into the most serious expression she'd ever seen, even from Setsuna. He knew the ability he was engaged in could kill if employed correctly. And by the looks of it he was very capable of doing just that.

"You'll start with me," Wufei's voice suddenly cut into her reverie. Trowa looked up from his work at the words, and Duo ceased his intricate action to look to them. Instantly the sober expression was gone as he smiled and waved towards her. Usagi waved back.

"Alright," she replied to Wufei, who led her to the cleared ring.

"I'll teach you some basic martial arts first. We'll be going quickly because we don't have much time. I just hope you're a fast learner."

Usagi sweatdropped, but didn't bother to mention her many deficiencies.

"After that we'll move into some of the more difficult moves. Then you'll move on to Duo, who'll work with you in learning the mostly non-lethal weapons. Once you've got a well enough grasp on that you'll go to Trowa, and learn how to—"

"I don't want to know how to use a gun." Usagi interrupted, voice firm, expression hard. The three pilots shared a helpless glance, then Trowa walked over and spoke.

"Usagi-san, I understand that you don't want to use a gun, but you have to at least learn how to hold one properly." He looked down at her, green eye kind.

"Yeah," Duo cut in, serious once more, "We don't know what kind of situations we're going to be getting into later on, and you don't know when you may need to bluff. If you tell an OZ officer not to move or you'll shoot him, but you're holding the gun the wrong way, he'll know instantly that you don't know what you're doing and your safety will be compromised. Do you understand?" His indigo gaze settled on her, alight with the intelligence he only rarely allowed to show.

"Hai," she nodded regretfully, furious at the world because these pilots were right.

"Then come over here—" Wufei had placed his hand on her shoulder to direct her inside the ring, but in the next second found himself flat on his back, looking wide-eyed up into her grinning face. She'd thrown him! And perfectly at that!

"I have a friend back home who taught me some of the basics," she said, and reached out a hand, as she had done the night of her rescue. This time Wufei lifted his own hand and gripped hers tightly, allowing her to help him to stand. She smiled brightly, knowing that this was a step in the right direction. She couldn't know that the simple fact that he was willing to train her, a woman, was a good sign.

"Good, that saves us some time then," he said, dusting off his pants as he reentered the ring. He continued to speak even as the walked across the small area and removed his shirt, "Show me what you know already so I'll know where to pick up your . . . are you alright?" He'd turned around to see that Usagi's face had turned a deep shade of crimson. Her eyes were wide and she looked as if she might be choking on a boulder. "What's wrong with you, Onna?" he growled, obviously impatient with whatever silly girlish thing might be causing her flush.

"Don't call me that!" she seethed, instantly brought out of the embarrassment of seeing him shirtless, "My name is Usagi-san, NOT Onna!"

"Fine, Usagi-san, come on, we don't have time for you to be standing around like that."

"Alright, alright," she grumbled and moved into the ring. For the first time she thanked Makoto for insisting that she learn some basic moves. But she knew that she would still come out of this training with more bruises than she already had.

* * *

Duo and Trowa stood a bit away from the ring where Usagi was getting a pretty good beating. Both were in a mild state of shock. Not only was Wufei actually taking the time to train a female, but the entire idea of training her in the first place had been his idea. Duo had been thinking that they should do something, but Wufei had been the first to suggest it.

"How long do you think she'll last?" Trowa asked, turning his attention back to his gun.

"Usagi-san's pretty tough, even if she doesn't look like it," Duo responded, eyes glued to the golden-haired girl as she dodged a punch from Wufei, "She'll do great." He twirled his staff in his hands and thought of his energy scythe, a miniature version of the one Deathscythe wielded. He missed that scythe.

"Be careful, Duo."

The braided one turned an indigo eye towards Trowa, who hadn't looked up to speak.

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you noticed how she acts around us? She carries herself very formally, even around you. You've become her friend more than the rest of us, but she hasn't relaxed very much."

"So?" Duo pursed his lips in annoyance, not understanding what the tall boy was trying to say.

"Quatre and I have both caught her staring off into space, always smiling when she does," Trowa paused and finally glanced upwards with a serious eye, "She's thinking of someone when she does that. Someone is waiting for her at home, someone she cares very much about."

It took Duo a few more seconds to figure that out, but when he did there was a strange sinking hurt in his chest.

"So she's got a boyfriend," he choked out, "Why should I care? I don't."

Trowa peered at him a bit longer from underneath those aggravating bangs. Then he shrugged, moving back towards his area and the four or five guns that waited there for him.

"Still," he said on his way, "be careful."

"I'm always careful," Duo replied, tapping his staff against the ground for emphasis. He shouldn't even have to tell the Heavyarms pilot; they all were careful at all times. None of them wanted to get into personal relationships that would most likely end in death and sorrow. Duo didn't know about the other four, but he had lost enough people he cared for to ever risk that pain again. No, he didn't care if Usagi had a boyfriend. It was probably better that way anyway.

He watched her spar with Wufei for a few more moments before he turned away, returning to his own designated area. Practice, yes, that would get his mind off of things he'd rather not think about. The problem was, he'd rather not think about anything. He had no memories that were not painful, no thoughts that did not involve OZ or the Gundams or fighting. He had no dreams that were not drenched in blood.

_Damn . . . what do I have to do to escape?_

* * *

Setsuna, Sailorpluto, watched the ensuing training from her calm abode in the Realm Between Times. A sigh escaped her, and a smile crossed her stern features. At last the pilots were taking their futures into their own hands. Instead of sitting around waiting for someone to attack them, and expecting the need to protect Usagi, they were preparing. They were teaching her the skills she would need to know, not only for this ordeal, but also for the future war with the Black Moon. Which meant, of course, that those pilots who had lagged were beginning to trust Usagi now. Perhaps not completely, but that would come in Time.

She closed her eyes, thinking over the course she wanted to be the future. In her vision, the trust in Usagi would be only the first step for these pilots towards truly trusting each other. Usagi was easy to trust, easy to become friends with, because of who she was. Her sunny personality and total innocence combined with an innate knowledge of people created an individual who could become friends with the most world wearied of soldiers. Given time, Setsuna thought with a small grin, Usagi-chan could probably make friends with a youma.

All thoughts of the pilots and Usagi were suddenly shattered as the Guardian felt another presence flittering at the outskirts of her mind. She stumbled back, eyes wide; this other mind was dark, immensely dark. And extremely powerful.

_What? What is it? What can it be?_

There were only a few entities in the universe powerful enough to reach into the Realm with only their mind. There were only a few beings able to enter the Realm physically for that matter. Most of the dark entities that powerful, however, had no care for Time. Most had what they wanted and therefore didn't bother to harass Setsuna or her charge. So what evil being had decided suddenly that they wanted more?

Who are you? She thought at the seeking mind, eye narrowed in concentration and expectation. But at her inquiry the consciousness retreated, and she couldn't tell from what Time or place it came. She searched for it a moment, then turned to retrieve her Time Staff. She must tell the pilots and Usagi . . .

But why? She had no proof that this was in any way connected to them. It was probably a separate situation all together; in fact, the odds were that this was not related to the events occurring on Earth or in the colonies. Right. She would keep her eye and mind out, but she wouldn't tell them of this. They didn't need to know.

* * *

Apparently word spread quickly in the Sanch Palace. As Hiiro and Quatre perused one hallways after another, searching for the potential whereabouts of the elusive princess, servants everywhere smiled at them. Correction: They smiled at Hiiro.

He scowled, not liking the attention, no not one tiny little bit. He hated it. It was just what he needed, to be recognized by every citizen of a country so any person on the street could identify him for OZ. _Yes officer, I know Hiiro Yui! I just saw him not five seconds ago!_ This was a disaster.

Not to mention the fact that the Sanch Kingdom's security wasn't worth the training that went into their guards, if any. No one had barred their entrance into the town, and the sentries at the gate had been only too happy to let them into the palace. Now he and Quatre were walking aimlessly about the building, who knows what they could be doing, and no one seemed suspicious enough to stop them. Now, Hiiro wanted peace just as much as anyone, but there were just some places where the line had to be drawn, dammit! Give him a day with the guards and he'd have them whipped into shape in—

_What am I thinking?!? It's not my mission to train guards for Sanch! My mission is to destroy OZ!_

He nodded and, now renewed in his knowledge of his destiny, turned a corner as confidently as if it were his palace.

And ran right smack dab into the middle of a very large, very mean looking person dressed in the formal diplomatic uniform of Sanch. Had he been anyone else he would have gone crashing into the ground. But, he was Hiiro Yui, and he rolled when he hit and was on his feet again three quarters of a second later.

"Who are you? What do you want in the palace?" the man rumbled, looking down on the two young pilots with the only suspicious eye in the entire kingdom. He was easily five times the size of Hiiro, and not just vertically, but horizontally as well. Beside him, Quatre gulped, wide-eyed.

"W-we're here to see the princess."

"The princess is busy at the moment," the gruff man eyed Hiiro as the boy began to move forward, "and she cannot be disturbed." Evidently word had yet to reach this burly bodyguard, for if he knew who Hiiro was he would most likely show them straight to the princess. This was a challenge. And Hiiro loved it. He had no plans to tell this guard who he was.

"You don't understand!" Quatre cried to Hiiro's undying horror, "He's Hiiro Yui!"

_Damn._

Bubble Man, for that was what he most resembled, leaned forward and squinted at the brown-haired boy, his lips twisting into the most horrid expression of thoughtfulness. At last his face broke into an even more hideous grin and he slapped Hiiro hard on the back.

"So _you're_ Hiiro Yui!" he echoed the words of the guard at the gate, "Well then, that's another story all together! Her Highness will see you right now!"

He took both boys by the shoulder and led them further down the hallway and through so many twists and turns that even Hiiro wasn't sure that he would be able to find his way back. All the while Bubble Man gabbled on and on about something or another that Hiiro ignored. Once he thought he might have heard the tail end of the princess's name, but he wasn't sure. Quatre was smiling and nodding politely, though his expression looked a bit uneasy. He probably didn't like being in the grip of a man who could easily crush him with a flick of his finger.

"Here we are," Bubble Man finally said, stopping before two great white doors, "I'll go in first and announce you!" he continued, grinning and looking extremely proud of himself. Apparently he didn't get to announce visitors to the princess every day.

He knocked first, then opened one door and stepped through. They heard his booming voice inside declaring the presence of "Mr. Hiiro Yui and guest." There was a muffled reply in a tone that was distinctly feminine, but he couldn't make out the actual words. There was, however, something in what he did hear that suddenly put Hiiro on guard. In a moment Bubble Man reappeared.

"The princess is very excited to hear that you're right here in Sanch Kingdom! She'll see you now," he bowed as well as his frame would let him and swept his overly round arms in the direction of the open door.

Hiiro saw Quatre take a deep breath and start forward. Then the blonde paused and looked to Hiiro. Obviously the Wing pilot was supposed to enter first. After all, it had been his name that had gotten them this far. Hiiro scowled and stepped into the door, expecting to see some middle-aged woman in a gown much too fancy to be real and a crown upon her head.

What greeted him instead was the very familiar face of a teenage girl who wore, instead of the regal garments of her station, the simple school uniform that he remembered.

"Hello, Hiiro." Relena Darlian/Peacecraft smiled at him and stood from her seat behind the desk.

Hiiro swallowed, suddenly forgetting why he was there.

End Chapter Ten


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Eleven**  
by Sailorcelestial

"I'm ready to move on!" Usagi cried. She had her wooden staff in one hand, and a booted foot propped on Duo's head. Her pose was very much like that of a safari hunter of old who had just killed a great lion. Wufei and Trowa both sweatdropped.

"Er . . . are you sure, Usagi-san?"

"Yeah! C'mon, Trowa-kun! Show me the guns!" Usagi's statement was presented with just a little too much gusto for the three pilot's liking. And the killer gleam in her eyes was just the teeniest bit too disturbing.

"But . . . um . . . Usagi-san," Wufei stepped out of his ring of stones, "I thought you said you didn't like guns."

"I don't. But this is a comedy chapter!"

"Oh." Wufei and Trowa blinked at each other. It DID make sense.

Beneath Usagi's boot, Duo mumbled something incoherent. None of them paid him any attention. Duo was usually incoherent. Usagi didn't even bother to lift her foot and allow him some room to breathe. Who cared if he lost a billion brain cells from suffocation? It wasn't as if he really needed them, after all. It didn't take a whole lot of thought to blow people away.

"So can I learn to shoot now, Trowa-kun? Huh? Can I, can I, can I? PLEEEEEAAAAASSEEEE?!?"

Trowa's head was completely blocked from view by what has to be the largest sweatdrop ever in the history if anime. He receives a good nine points for that one.

"O-okay, Usagi-san," he stuttered, but whether it was from shock at her attitude or simple fright at the thought of putting a gun into the hands of Tsukino Usagi . . . the world may never know.

"Yay!" Usagi clapped and bounded off of Duo's head with barely contained glee. Her bright golden banners of hair trailed after her as she skipped across the clearing to stand next to her tall tutor. None of them heard Duo's gasp as he was finally allowed to pull air into his long deprived lungs.

"Okay, now, see how I'm holding mine?" Trowa asked, one hand gripping the handle of the gun, the other planted at the base. He held the weapon out before him to show his student the proper method, and was surprised when Usagi immediately struck up the proper pose. He didn't have to correct her on anything; she was simply a very fast learner.

"Alright," he shook his head in disbelief, "you stay there while I set up a target for you."

"Got it."

Trowa lowered his gun and walked towards the human shaped targets piled on the ground. Picking one up, he stared at it for a moment before hanging it on a tree in front of Usagi. Quickly, before she could get restless and decide to shoot without word from him, he rushed out of her line of fire and walked FAR around her until he returned to her side.

"Now, keep both eyes open and use aim the barrel for either the heart or the head. Later you'll have to do this much more quickly, but for right now take your time and pull the trigger when you're ready."

Usagi nodded to show him that she'd heard and understood. He watched her as she carefully pointed the gun towards the target, taking notice of each little inch and half-inch. A minute passed, then two, and her tongue poked out from between her lips as she concentrated. Three minutes, four, five, and still she hadn't pulled the trigger. Trowa nearly sighed as he waited, hoping that she would be able to move past this perfectionist stage quickly. He could just see her standing in the middle of a hoard of OZ soldiers: Excuse me, could you all hold still please while I aim my gun at you? No, that just wouldn't do at all.

Trowa was so caught up in his own thoughts that he nearly missed it when Usagi's finger finally began to close on the trigger . . .

* * *

Serenity yawned, placing her cheek in one hand, watching the news sideways. It was the same as always: crime, murder, war, OZ trying to convince the colonies that peace was really, truly all it wanted in this vast, wide universe. Of course, Serenity knew better than to believe it. She'd seen their cruelty first hand, though it was long ago.

"Serenity," a grating voice cut into her private musings. The former NeoQueen flinched and grimaced before lifting her head and glaring at the raven-haired woman sitting next to her on the couch.

"What is it, Mars?" she asked with the familiar annoyed tone.

"You were drifting off again. I swear, your mind wanders more and more every day. You must be finally getting old."

"No older than you, Mars no baka."

In truth, Serenity's mind had been wandering because she knew that her younger self was at this very moment on Earth with the five Gundam pilots. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on, for in those days she hadn't cared to check the time every few moments. How could she know then that her future self would be interested in knowing?

"—as if we really need any more violence!" Queen Mars was finishing. Serenity nodded her head vaguely, pretending to have heard the entire statement.

"Absolutely."

"Those new style mobile suits are bad enough! What do they call them? Mobile dolls!" Mars' hands flew in irate patterns through the air as she ranted, "Those things are bad enough without issuing new guns to those soldiers who won't even be going into battle! Without a war to fight those soldiers will just take those new issue guns into villages and colonies and make all sorts of trouble!"

"Not to mention the fact that the bullets they made for those guns are way too heavy," Serenity offered with a yawn, "Those weapons won't get the range they could have if the bullets were lighter. And the barrel is too long as well; they'll be off balanced."

Silence reigned over the two of them for somewhere around three minutes before Serenity realized that Mars was simply staring at her in open mouthed shock. The silver-haired woman blinked at her confused friend.

"What?"

"And since WHEN do you know so much about guns?"

"C'mon, that's just common knowledge, isn't it?" Serenity gulped when Mars shook her head. Somewhere along the way Serenity had gotten the idea that everyone in this time were experts on weapons, if not so, then at least had a basic knowledge of the workings of a gun.

"I'll bet you don't really know anything," Mars scoffed with a mocking grin, "You just made that up."

Serenity sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't need to prove her knowledge to anyone, least of all Mars. Then the raven-haired former queen offered a bet that Serenity simply couldn't pass up.

"I'll bet that you couldn't shoot a target from three feet away. In fact, I'm SO sure you can't that I'll put my brand new vid-phone on the line."

"Your vid-phone?" Serenity straightened and turned her face towards her best friend and rival, "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mars. You love that vid-phone."

"What am I going to win?" the woman returned, showing with her question that she wasn't even considering the idea that she could lose.

"Let's see . . ." The former NeoQueen leaned back in her chair and propped an index finger on her chin, as if in deep thought. Finally she turned sparkling, mischievous blue eyes on to Mars, "I'll bet my Mercedes." Serenity referred to the classic 2015 model Mercedes that she had kept in tip- top shape over the millennia. It was a one of a kind, none of its comrades left in the entire universe. Countless vehicle collectors and museums had come to her about trying to buy the car or to see if she might donate it to their cause. Serenity had always told them no, the car was not for sale and had too much sentimental value to donate.

Mars' violet eyes widened so much, Serenity was tempted to try and set a teacup on them.

"You aren't serious!"

"Deadly."

She saw the other woman pause for a moment. Then Mars laughed and grabbed Serenity's hand, dragging her out of the apartment without even letting her turn off the television.

Half an hour later they were standing in one of the colonies many shooting ranges, both sporting earplugs and stylish green goggles. Mars tried to convince Serenity to move the target closer, but the silver-haired one insisted on moving it as far back as it could possibly go. The black silhouette looked like that of a munchkin, and neither the white target lines nor the numbers were visible from that distance. Eyes glinting, Serenity loaded the gun with a proficiency that would have frightened Mars if she had been paying attention. But she was too busy pondering what she was going to do with a multi-millennia old, extremely valuable Mercedes.

Holding the gun with the familiarity one uses with an old friend, Serenity aimed, cocked the gun, and pulled the trigger . . .

* * *

BANG!

ZOOM!

CRACK!

ZOOM!

CLANG!

ZOOM!

THWACK!

The three Gundam pilots and Usagi lay flat on the ground. Silence accompanied them for the few minutes that passed until Duo dared to stick his head up to check for safety. Usagi peeked through her slender fingers at the target.

It was whole.

The same could not be said, however, for the tree. About five feet above the target there was a great wound in the bark where the bullet's impact had caused a miniature explosion. Splinters of wood hung from the rim of the hole in all directions, and a waft of thin smoke drifted upwards into the air.

"I . . ." Trowa paused to gulp, "I think you . . . you need . . . eh . . . more practice."

Duo and Trowa both paled, but Wufei wasn't paying any attention. After the danger passed, Wufei had immediately checked the state of his katana. A large dent marred the blade's surface and marked where the bullet had ricocheted off of it after ricocheting off of a high tree branch.

"NOOOOOO!!" he sobbed, hugging the sword, albeit carefully, to himself. "MY BABY!!! YOU'VE KILLED MY BABY!"

"I thought Nataku was your baby," Duo mused.

"MY BABY!!!" Wufei wailed, completely ignoring anything else. Then he sniffled and began to murmur quiet assurances to the sword that everything would be all right. Patting the blade gently, he rose and turned his back on the others, completely wrapped up in the plight of his precious katana.

Usagi sighed and pushed herself up from the ground.

"This gun stuff is harder than I thought," she muttered, picking up the weapon again and turning to face the target. One can never say that the golden haired odango atama is not persistent. She lifted the gun and aimed towards the target, once more carefully lining up the end of her weapon with the simple black silhouette. While Trowa and Duo ran for cover, Usagi took a deep breath and pulled the trigger . . .

* * *

BANG!

Thwap!

Had they not been wearing earplugs, the former queens would have heard the eerie, ringing silence that followed Serenity's final shot. She'd fired three times in quick succession, and the target was just now traveling on its cable towards her. Closer . . . closer . . . closer . . .

Mars paled.

"I . . . I don't believe it."

Two head shots, one chest.

"Damn," Serenity murmured, "I missed the heart."

"But . . . but, but, but . . ." Mars stuttered helplessly. It didn't matter that the silver haired one had missed the heart. What mattered was that she HADN'T missed the target. "But, but, but . . ."

While Mars stood there repeating herself in utter disbelief, Serenity put a new target on the cable, returned it to its farthest position, and reloaded the gun. This time her companion watched as the NeoQueen lowered the gun, aimed, and fired. She had a confidence to her, and a gentle knowing that Mars was shocked to see, especially about such a destructive thing as guns. She'd been a staunch advocate of peace, ever since she was sixteen years old.

"Serenity, where did you learn to use a gun like that?"

There was no answer. Serenity was, after all, wearing earplugs.

She brought the target close once more. Three head shots.

Mars gulped.

* * *

Hiiro tossed Quatre inside a small, closet-like room, and slammed the door behind them. His eyes were wide and wild, and he looked from side to side as if expecting to see Relena pop out at them at any moment.

"Hiiro . . ." Quatre began carefully, "Why did you just run away from the princess of Sanch?"

"It's a long story," Hiiro replied shortly, and it was obvious that he wasn't interested in sharing the story.

"But, if you hate her so much, then how are we expected to gain political asylum?"

"It's not that I hate her . . . not really." Hiiro paused, and Quatre couldn't help but wonder if it was because he didn't know how to explain what he wanted to say, or if because he didn't know how to speak more than one sentence at a time.

"HIIIIIIIIIROOOOOOO!"

"Oh no!" Hiiro whispered loud enough for Quatre to hear. "She's coming! I can't let her find me! Hide me!"

"We ARE hidden," Quatre's voice was barely above a murmur, but Hiiro leaped forward and slapped his hand tightly over the blonde's mouth. Unfortunately this put them both off balance and the two went tumbling backwards into a stack of boxes in the back of the room. In a jumble of bumps and cries the boxes came tumbling down, giving away their location. Batting aside fallen cardboard, Hiiro emerged from the pile just in time to see the door open and Relena's head poke through.

"THERE you are!" the girl's slender hand darted into the dimly lighted space confidently, unerringly through the boxes and tangled limbs of the two boys to find Hiiro's wrist. "Hiiro, that isn't your room! If you had just followed me, silly, you wouldn't be in this mess right now!"

Quatre couldn't help but laugh at that one.

Hiiro jabbed him in the ribs . . . hard.

"OW! That was completely uncalled for!"

"So was the laugh." Hiiro muttered.

Relena tugged Hiiro out of the closet, dragging him along until he managed somehow to pull himself to his feet. He followed the chipper, cheerful, happy princess in silence. His head was settled in between his scrunched shoulders, and his bottom lip protruded ever so slightly. The stoic, unbendable, unmovable Wing pilot looked like a pouting child being led back to class.

"You're asking for political asylum, right?" Relena asked calmly, then proceeded without waiting for an answer, "Well I grant it. You and your friend, in fact all of your friends, where ever they may be, are welcome in Sanch Kingdom. You are all invited to spend your time here in the Palace. So, do you have any other friends?"

Hiiro and Quatre looked at each other.

With the time they'd taken to get here . . . DID they have any friends left??

End Chapter Eleven


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Twelve**  
by Sailorcelestial

Setsuna's shaking fingers tightened around her staff. She'd been watching the portals, and knew that it was time to pick up Usagi and the three pilots and transport them to Sanch. She had to calm herself, however, so she could keep her ever growing secret well hidden from them.

The darkness she felt was growing not only stronger, but more curious. It reached into her realm more often and with more tenacity with each passing attempt. The Guardian could not help but feel she was being baited. It wanted her to come looking for it. And a dark entity that confident was not something to go chasing after.

Setsuna shook her head and passed a deep breath through her lungs. Calm rushed through her in familiar waves, an old friend she was used to and had been missing lately. She shook out the last remaining vestiges of panic and tapped her staff against the ground, willing her Time Gate to open to the proper Time and place. It did so almost too willingly, and she couldn't help but think of it as the gaping maw of a creature waiting to devour her. A ridiculous thought she knew, and forced herself to step into the swirling, psychedelic void that was the Time Warp.

Setsuna was the most adept walker between Times, and it was barely a moment, or perhaps an eternity, until she came upon the glittering white gate that matched the one opened to the Realm. This one would lead her to the base and through that to the three pilots left behind and their very precious charge. She waved it open with her staff and stepped through, green-black fuku and hair suddenly fluttering in the Earth's breeze. With a brief thought she erected an invisibility shield about her and set off into the trees to find her young friends.

It didn't take her long, because the pilots were smart enough to stay in the area in case she should show up with more information. The boys may not completely trust her yet, but they desperately wanted to know the secrets she refused to tell them, and that's what kept them following her orders. For now.

"Hello," she let the shield drop and peered over the four people sitting in the clearing, "I've come to take you to Sanch. Hiiro and Quatre have won political asylum for you."

The four tossed a glance between themselves and all finally just shrugged and stood. Apparently the pilots had all given up on trying to get more answers from her. They walked over to her peacefully and quietly.

_At last something is going my way._

"Place your hands on the staff, please." Setsuna saw the grin spreading on Duo's face and thrust her Time Key out before her, "I mean the Time staff!"

Usagi snickered, and Trowa colored a bit. Wufei growled and simply put his hand forward. Setsuna glared at the other three until they too placed their hands on the giant key. Her mind cleared, the Guardian concentrated on the Sanch Palace and in moments they were standing inside the building itself. Not only that, but they were inside the princess's office, standing directly in front of her desk with Hiiro and Quatre beside them.

"Relena?!?" Duo's mouth fell wide open as he saw the girl sitting serenely behind the great mahogany monstrosity. Usagi discreetly reached over and snapped it shut with a CLICK resounding from his teeth.

"Hello, Duo." Relena smiled in that annoyingly calm way she had about her, her hands clasped together and resting on the table counter. She tilted her head forward in a very regal bow, and Setsuna was glad to see all five pilots and Usagi return the gesture. "Well, since you are here, I will assume that you all know that you are welcome here in Sanch under my protection. That offer is extended to you as well." The young princess turned her eyes to Setsuna, who shook her head.

"I cannot stay, Your Majesty. I have duties elsewhere."

"I understand," Relena smiled, and the Guardian knew that when this girl said she understood, it was not merely a figure of speech, "I will let you be gone to your business then."

Setsuna bowed. She did not have to, for the only princess she truly felt loyalty towards was Serenity. But she had been watching this girl for some time, and knew that Relena was a strong and determined individual, capable of running a country and worthy of respect. When the woman straightened she saw a knowing glimmer in the girl's eyes.

"Behave, Duo." Setsuna grumbled before vanishing. She didn't want to hear the cheerful 'No problem!' that would no doubt follow.

* * *

Down the corridors, through the palace, avoiding the crowds of people who wanted to get a glimpse of Hiiro Yui, the pilots followed Relena as she led them towards their quarters. Quatre kept his hands clenched together just under his chin; he was afraid to touch anything for fear that he would break some priceless vase or other such item. The fear was not unfounded, for he had broken a valuable Winner family heirloom when he was young, and the reaction of his father had instilled in him a deep respect for anything that looking overly expensive.

"How are we gonna get our Gundams?" Duo leaned over and whispered into the blonde's ear.

"Don't worry, Relena is taking care of it." Quatre caught the indigo look that clearly betrayed Duo's wariness of letting the Sanch princess know where their Gundams were located. "She's trustworthy." The boy didn't bother to mention that Relena would never do anything to endanger Hiiro's life. Quatre clearly felt from her the emanations of strong love, directed at Hiiro.

_He can't feel the same for you, Sanch princess . . . it isn't part of his program. I feel so sorry for you both, and wonder where this road is going to lead you._

* * *

From the rear of the group, Trowa watched his pale-haired Quatre speak to Duo. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but that didn't matter. What mattered was he had Quatre in constant sight, ready to protect him from any danger in the vicinity. True, the most dangerous thing in Sanch was a wild rabbit, but that was no reason to let his guard down. Why, one of those wild rabbits could rush in at any moment and bite Quatre and tear a finger off, or . . .

_What are you thinking? This is stupid. Quatre CAN take care of himself._

Yes, Trowa replied to the rational voice in his mind, but he just seems so fragile. I can't help feeling like I need to protect him. I want to make certain he is safe and . . . and happy . . .

"He IS kawaii, isn't he?"

Trowa jumped, his green eye moving to look at Usagi, the owner of the sudden hushed voice. She had a goofy, knowing grin plastered on her face and her eyes glittered with a very annoying mischievousness.

"W-What?"

"Quatre-kun," she stole a glance at said pilot, "He's kawaii, downright adorable. I know you've noticed."

To his eternal humiliation, Trowa felt heat rising to his cheeks and knew that he was coloring a deep shade of red. What was worse, however, was the surge of bile-black jealousy that rose in his throat. Usagi had noticed Quatre?!? What business did she have noticing HIS Quatre?!? None!

"—tell him."

"Huh?" Trowa blinked, realizing that he had missed the last part of her statement.

"I said that with the war and everything, you don't know what could happen next. Before someone gets hurt, or worse, if you love him, you need to tell him."

"But . . . I . . there . . . I can't . . ."

"Yes you can," she turned those deep, swirling blue yes on him again, this time filled with concern and solemnity, "You have to. Trowa-kun, you're in a war. You could be killed in the next battle. HE could be killed. Do you really want that to happen without him knowing how you feel?"

_Do I? Could I handle that?_

The tight ball of anxiety that formed in his stomach was answer enough. Trowa released a sigh and nodded to Usagi. He felt the gentle touch of her hand on his arm, and the comforting squeeze, and somehow knew that whatever else happened, anything that Usagi told him to do concerning Quatre was right.

"But," he looked down on her, confusion flowing through him, "how did you know?"

"Know what? That you're in love with Quatre-kun?" Usagi's eyes were soft, and her laugh kind, "Trowa-kun, it isn't that hard to see. You two are always together; you've practically attached yourself to his hip even though you know that he is as highly trained and capable of protecting himself as you are. It's easy to see. We always want to protect the ones we love." Her gaze took on a far away look, and Trowa knew that she was seeing a distant face, the visage of the one she wanted to protect.

"But, Quatre has to know too," Trowa continued, only partly to take her mind off of whoever it was she missed so much, "He can sense feelings. If he knows, why hasn't he said anything?"

"Sometimes even the most perceptive of us can be blinded when it comes to those we truly care about."

* * *

Usagi looked up into Trowa's green eye and was pleased to see the signs of confusion there. She was proud of her cryptic statement and had no plans to clarify it at all. Trowa was smart; he could figure it out.

"Princess Relena!"

Usagi stopped. That voice, it was so familiar. She knew she shouldn't know anyone here, and the voice was certainly not one she thought she should recognize . . . but something about it nevertheless struck a chord in her. It made her homesick.

She walked around the pilots, towards the front of the group where Relena stood talking with a woman not much taller than the princess. Wire-rimmed glasses perched on her tiny nose, almost hiding the blue-black eyes. Her face was framed by gently layered strands of blue hair and she wore a white lab coat. Underneath that she had on a long blue business dress, which could be seen because it came down to mid-calf while the lab coat was only knee-length. In her hand she held several sheets of paper, what looked like print-outs of documents or some other such important legal nonsense. But she was not a lawyer. No, she looked more like a . . . like a doctor.

"Ami-chan?"

Those dark eyes jerked from Relena to land on Usagi's face and an instant joy filled them. The woman, this time's version of Mizuno Ami, forgot all about the princess of Sanch as she saw her true princess standing before her.

"Usagi-chan!"

The two ran forward and flung their thin arms about each other in a tight and tearful hug. No words were spoken in the next few moments; Usagi and Ami didn't need them, and the onlookers were at a loss for them. When at last the two separated themselves and began talking, it made no sense to Relena or the five Gundam pilots.

"I can't believe this! I didn't think I was going to see any of you here!"

"What, did you think we'd just disappear?"

"No, of course not! But I thought . . . I don't know . . . you'd be on Mercury or something!"

"Ah, those days are long past us, Usagi-chan. The others are living on colonies, but I chose to stay on Earth and serve the Family."

"You mean . . .?" Usagi's eyes drifted to Relena, who stood in shocked silence, unaware of what was going on or what Usagi and Ami were talking about. The blue-haired woman nodded with a smile.

"Yes, that's what I mean."

Usagi squealed in delight and pounced on Relena, giving her the same tight hug that she and Ami had shared only a moment ago. Of course no one else understood why she suddenly had affected such a familiar attitude towards the Sanch princess. None of them could have understood.

"Usagi-chan," Ami's gentle voice reached through her happy trance, "you're making a scene."

"Oh, yes, eh, sorry, Relena-chan."

She saw eyebrows rise all over the room and instantly knew her mistake. By now the pilots understood enough of her personality to know that she normally would have called the princess 'Relena-sama,' not 'Relena-chan.' Now they were most definitely suspicious.

_Way to go, Usagi._

"You were showing us to our quarters, weren't you?" Usagi grinned at Relena and turned to give a too cheerful wave goodbye to Ami. Hidden in that wave was the signal for the woman to meet her later. Ami nodded, and Usagi turned away again, satisfied.

* * *

The five pilots all gathered in Duo's room to discuss Usagi's odd behavior. Duo sat cross-legged on the bed while Hiiro and Trowa leaned on separate walls. Quatre sat primly in the only chair in the room and Wufei paced back and forth, one arm draped over his stomach, the other hand perched on his chin.

"She certainly is an odd girl in general," the Chinese boy offered after a moment of silence.

"She isn't a danger," Quatre tossed in with a quick glance to Duo. No doubt he was remembering the insult they'd all gotten after Usagi's capture, and rightly so, "She's perfectly safe."

"I agree with Quatre," Trowa never moved his eyes from the ground at Quatre's feet, "She's good. And I trust her."

"Yeah, but we've all put our trust in people who didn't deserve it before, now haven't we?" Duo was acting especially serious, which had an effect on the other four. If Duo put aside his trademark mantle of jokes and a laidback nature, then the situation was more severe than even they had realized.

"I think I understand."

All eyes turned to Hiiro, who balanced with one foot against the wall, the other his only anchor to the floor. He too stared at the carpet, but this time it was with a sense of deep, intelligent thought. No one spoke as they watched him, and they could almost see the gears turning in that perfectly programmed mind of his. At long last, after a pause that seemed like agonizing hours, Hiiro opened his mouth and spoke again.

"Usagi isn't from our time."

"What are you talkin' about, Hiiro?"

"I'm talking, Duo, about the fact that our mysterious benefactor turned out to be the Guardian of Time. If her story is true, then she has access to all of the powers and privileges of Time itself. She claims that she saw a horrible future for us unless she moved to prevent it, and brought someone to help us. If she can see into the future, who's to say that she couldn't bring help from the past if there was no one in this time she thought was worthy?"

The silence that followed was drenched in thoughtful deliberation as the four pondered what Hiiro had said. Eyes lit up as they all came to the same conclusion as him, all except for Duo.

"Just because Setsuna's the Guardian of Time or whatever, doesn't mean that Usagi came from the past. Why do you say the past, anyway? Why couldn't it be the future? Or why not the present?"

"It does make sense, Duo, more now than ever." Quatre turned his blue eyes to the braided one, a gentle excitement moving him to almost bounce up and down in his seat, "It didn't make sense before, but now it does! I went looking for some of the odd expressions that she uses when she speaks Japanese. I thought maybe it was a very remote dialect of the language used in some secluded part of the country. But I found out that Usagi-san speaks a version Japanese that was spoken _four thousand years ago!"_

Even Hiiro's eyes widen at that. Apparently he hadn't believed that she was from so ancient a place in the stream of Time.

"F-four thousand years?" Duo tried to make his mouth work, but only ended up with a stutter.

"It does make sense," Wufei mused, his head tilted backwards, dark eyes trained on the ceiling as if it answered all of his questions, "but it still doesn't answer two other questions. One, how does she know this Ami person? Two, why did she react like that towards Relena?"

"I don't know about Ami, but I do have a theory about Relena," Quatre stood up, straightening his vest and shirt as though he were about to make speech in front of a large audience, "What if Relena is Usagi's descendant?" He raised his hands to stop their protesting before it even began, "No, listen. I . . . had a dream. In it I saw a princess commit suicide over the death of her fiancée. I thought it was just a coincidence, but then . . . that was the night I visited you, Duo, asking about the goddess of the moon."

"I remember. You were particularly interested in Selene."

"Right, because the name of the princess in my dream was Serenity. And her fiancée . . ."

"Endymion." Duo's eyes narrowed as Quatre nodded.

"Right."

"What does this have to do with Usagi-san? Or Relena for that matter?" Wufei looked on the two of them, eager to get through the theory and see if had merit.

"I believe that Usagi-san WAS that princess in the dream, that the events I saw really happened. More importantly, I believe that she was reborn in a later time. I think Usagi-san is the reincarnation of that princess, and Sanch is the remnants of her kingdom."

"You're nuts," Wufei shook his head, obviously dismissing the theory entirely, "It's too unbelievable. It's insane."

"Is it more unbelievable than having our futures changed by the Guardian of Time?" Trowa walked to stand beside Quatre, offering his support both silently and verbally. Wufei's dark eyes shifted back and forth between the two, and some small light of realization dawned in them. He admitted his defeat in silence. It wasn't that his point was beaten, he simply couldn't stand against Trowa and Quatre.

"Well, this is all great theory and all, and I'd love to keep babbling, but believe it or not I'm tired," Duo punctuated his statement with a loud and rather over done yawn, "So I'd appreciate it if you guys would leave. Now." The Deathscythe pilot then herded the other four very surprised pilots through the door and shut it behind them.

With them gone, Duo was free to think over the things said for himself. He spent a good hour lying awake on the bed pondering the possibility that Usagi might not be from his time, but in fact four thousand years in the past. It was such a vast concept that his mind, as bright as it was, could barely comprehend it.

_Usagi can't be from the past. At least, not that far back. She can't be. Because if she is . . ._

Because if she was, then when this was all over, she would have to go back. And he would never see her again.

* * *

Outside the palace two figures spoke under cover of night. One was short, with layered hair and white lab coat. The other was taller, with long dark hair, and was dressed in sailor fuku.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Ami-chan. It has not be this way."

"But why? Why do we have to help add to her pain? I don't understand!"

"It's destiny. You should know better than any of the others that this has to happen. You built it, remember?"

"I didn't build it, I only created the damn thing," Ami snarled, turning her slender, adult face to stare into the night horizon. Silence passed as she studied that plane, beautiful with the dottings of trees. These were real, not the horribly fake things that they installed in the colonies to try and give them a homey sense. "I created it, not knowing at the time why Serenity insisted that I make something so . . . destructive. I'm still not quite sure. It seems a completely pointless endeavor; not only was it a waste of my time back then, but it is a serious threat to Usagi-chan now. I won't let you lead her to that fate, Setsuna-san."

"It isn't something you can stop. Even without you or me to lead her, Usagi-chan would find this destiny on her own. We might as well be there to comfort her. In all of her forms."

"What do you mean?"

Setsuna shifted, lowering her maroon gaze to the ground before she replied.

"Just know this: after you take Usagi-chan to it, then you must leave on one of your annual visits." The Guardian raised her hand to stop a protesting Ami, "No questions. You will know when you get there why I'm asking you now to go."

Ami gave a sigh and stared at Setsuna for a long moment. Blue-black met maroon, and the wills in the battle were both strong. Finally, however, it was blue that looked away.

"Setsuna-san, you're one of the most irritating people I know. But you've never once led me or any of the others in the wrong direction. So will trust you in this, as we all have trusted you many times before. But I swear that if this goes wrong, I'll find you no matter how much Time may be changed, and make sure that you're sorry for this mistake."

Even Setsuna, the stern and stoic Guardian of Time, was shocked by these words from the woman who had always been the kindest and most understanding of all the Senshi. She stepped away from Ami, eyes wide as the short-haired woman turned.

_Setsuna-san, I know you want what is best for these boys and their futures, but you're taking too many risks with the past! You can't forget that without Usagi four thousand years ago, the boys would have lived very different lives, if they lived at all!_

Ami shook her head to herself, angry that she hadn't thought to say those words to Setsuna while she had actually had the woman in front of her. But as she stalked into the palace, and saw the bright lights within, her mind was taken back in time to the days of Crystal Tokyo, when Serenity had been a strong and gentle ruler, tempered by her many odd and painful experiences.

That was when she knew Setsuna was right, no matter what else.

Usagi would have only more pain to face in the next few days . . . more pain than she had felt in either of her lives so far.

End Chapter Twelve.


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**Broken Wing  
Chapter Thirteen**  
by Sailorcelestial

Hiiro stood with his hands gripping the metal rail tightly. Beneath him workers bustled about, changing OZ Taurus mobile suits into suitable weapons for Sanch. Relena knew nothing of this; it was all the doing of Quatre and that former OZ lieutenant, Noin. Hiiro knew they meant well, but he couldn't help thinking that their actions made hypocrites of the citizens of a pacifist nation. Sanch was supposed to be a place of peace, where people could live without the threat of death through battle. Yet, beneath the very palace that promoted pacifism, lurked the painted white shadows of war. What would Relena say if she knew? Brave Princess Relena, who would give her life if it would mean peace for the people of Earth and the colonies. Hiiro, however, was not as willing as she to offer up her life as a sacrifice to the god of war. He would not see her made a martyr so soon.

_But . . . you have to kill her. Not protect her._

"Ohayo gozimasu, Hiiro-kun!"

He tossed a careless glance over his shoulder to see Usagi waving at him, standing on her tip toes as if she thought he couldn't see her. He turned his gaze back to the suits below before she approached.

"It's rude not to answer, you know."

Hiiro grunted. He didn't feel like one of Usagi's lessons in caring at the moment.

"Thinking about Relena-chan?"

Prussian blue shifted quickly to land on Usagi's face as she grinned at him. How did she always seem to know what was on everyone's mind? Her expression gave no answer. Hiiro watched her hop onto the railing and settle herself there in what couldn't have been a very comfortable position. Her hands clutched the metal bar tightly on either side of her. Her body was leaned forward to allow this extra support, and her booted feet were propped on the bar of the lower tier. Framing her entire face were her two streamers of shimmering golden hair. Hiiro glanced into her soft blue eyes, which caught his gaze gently and refused to let it go.

"Relena's in danger," he finally answered, careful to control the odd emotion that threatened to take over his voice, "She's the princess of the only true pacifist nation on the Earthsphere. OZ isn't likely to leave her alone much longer."

"And you're worried about her."

He grunted again, this time out of a desire not to answer what he knew was not a question anyway. Damn Usagi and her powers of observation. She would have made an excellent Gundam pilot, though.

"She's worried about you too."

Hiiro narrowed his eyes to keep from looking at Usagi again. In the two days since her arrival, the golden-haired one had been seen in the company of just about everyone in the palace, for she was a very social person. But mostly she seemed to like being around Relena, and treated the girl like a little sister, though the princess was only a year younger. Not only did this seem to confirm Quatre's theory about Relena being Usagi's descendent, but it also meant that if anyone would know what Relena though of him, it would be the girl from the past. And Usagi always spoke the truth.

"She knows that you're likely to be killed in any battle," the girl continued, "and she doesn't want to see that happen."

"She sounds a lot like Setsuna," Hiiro muttered. Usagi ignored him.

"You're very stubborn you know. You're just like Trowa-kun, not wanting to tell the person you care about how you feel. He has reasons that he should tell . . . but you . . . you seem to have many reasons why you _shouldn't_. Don't you?"

Once again Hiiro refused to comment. As always, she was getting right to the heart of things, and he didn't like it any more than he liked being known throughout Sanch. He was too used to being a mystery to everyone who knew him. Even Quatre had never come close to truly understanding him. It was unnerving to be dissected by this girl who had been, until a few months ago, a complete stranger.

"You think that because you're a soldier, correction, The Perfect Soldier, you don't deserve to have a life. You think that you will always be fighting, with no chance to see peace even if the rest of the universe finds harmony. You think that you would only be a burden or a constant worry to anyone who ever was stupid enough to fall in love with you." With a smile, Usagi slid from her perch on the rail and rested a hand on his shoulder. Before Hiiro could jerk away, she caught his gaze once more. "Everyone deserves a happy life, Hiiro-kun, even soldiers. Everyone deserves peace. Not even you can live only in war; peace will find you some day very soon. And she loves you. You could never be a burden to her; it is the nature of love to be married to worry, even if the most dangerous thing the loved one does is walk down the street."

Hiiro watched the golden one as she walked away, and wondered when she'd found the time in her short life to be so wise.

* * *

"What do you think they were talking about?"

Quatre's eyes caught Trowa sideways, and he shrugged. He'd been pretending not to notice Hiiro and Usagi on the catwalk above, but now that he knew Trowa had also seen there was no point to pretending.

"I don't know, but whatever it was it affected Hiiro. He seems different, even from this distance." He lowered his eyes to the clipboard he held, aware of Trowa's own gaze on him. The words on the page blurred together as he feigned reading. He could be reading the first chapter of Moby Dick and he'd never know it. Just look busy, don't look too desperate to talk to him.

"Quatre?"

"Yes?" The blonde tried to keep from looking up too quickly when Trowa spoke his name. The tall boy had his hands stuffed in his jeans pockets and head bent so low that his bangs covered both eyes. As Quatre held the clipboard to his chest where he kept his breath hostage, Trowa fidgeted and looked for all the world as if he'd rather be somewhere else. There was something he wanted to say, Quatre didn't have to feel that, for Trowa's mouth opened and closed silently.

"Mr. Winner!"

One of the soldiers working under Noin rushed over, waving some papers in his hands. Quatre glanced at it briefly before scrawling his name in messy script on the printed line, annoyed that the man had chosen THIS moment for something like this. He thrust the papers back into the soldier's hand and turned back to Trowa, smile once more in place.

"What were you going to say?"

Trowa breathed deeply in what Quatre interpreted as the tall boy's version of a sigh and shook his head.

"It was nothing, nevermind."

Sandrock's pilot sighed, watching Trowa as he left. Quatre cursed inwardly at the interrupting soldier. Then he felt immediately guilty.

_It isn't the soldier's fault I interpret everything Trowa does as showing feeling for me. Quatre hugged the clipboard tighter and turned his gaze upwards at the nearly completed Taurus suits. Why do I keep disappointing myself?_

* * *

"Dammit!"

Duo released a heavy, growling breath as he threw down his wrench and took position on Deathscythe's open cockpit door. His sparking indigo eyes raked over each Sanch and former OZ underling that dared to cross the floor in his path.

"Who the hell was it that brought Deathscythe to Sanch?" he bellowed, fists planted into his hips to keep them from pummeling the first person to answer, "Whoever it was had better have a damn good explanation for WHY everything is screwed up!"

"Duo, calm down." Usagi's voice floated up to him just before the girl herself can into view. As she pulled her body onto the Gundam's door, Duo bent over to grasp her hand and help. She thanked him with one of her Usagi smiles and his heart performed a jaunty little jig in his chest.

"What's wrong with it?"

"H-huh?" Duo stuttered and blinked, bringing his mind out of the blissful oblivion in which it had been analyzing the luster of every single strand of her hair.

"What's wrong with, what did you call it? Deathscythe?" She bent over and retrieved the wrench from its position on the cockpit floor and turned her eyes to him expecting an answer.

"Eh . . . are you a mechanic too?" he asked warily, eyeing the wrench, for now it was in what had been proven to be very dangerous hands. "Is that another one of your talents?"

"Well, no . . . but I did work on a car once!" She grinned cheerfully and Duo felt his heart simultaneously dance and drop.

"This isn't a car, Usagi-san!"

"I know that, but I want to help and Wufei-kun already kicked me out of Shenlong."

"Altron," Duo corrected absently, eyes trained on the wrench, waiting for his chance to pounce and safely from her.

"Shenlong, Altron, whatever! Do you have any idea how protective Wufei-kun is of that robot?"

"Gundam—"

"Robot, Gundam, whatever! Did you know he has a pet name for it? Calls it 'Nataku' for Pete's sake! If he wasn't already a colossal jerk, I'd think he was just plain NUTS!" Usagi waved her arms in the air as she spoke, voice rising higher to match her anger, and Duo nearly trembled in fear for what might happen to Deathscythe should he fail to relieve her of her small weapon. "Now, lets see what the problem is here."

"Usagi-san, please, just let me—"

"Nonsense! I want to help, and I'm going to help!"

"You want to help? You know what would really help?" He was getting desperate, so desperate that he failed to realize what a rather large mistake his next comment would be, "I'm really thirsty, you could get me some water or something."

"What?" Usagi's eyes narrowed on him, and Duo suddenly understood that he had dug himself a six foot hole, "Do I look like a servant to you? What, because I'm a GIRL I'm supposed to run around getting you drinks and cooking your dinner and fixing your robots?"

"Gundam," Duo squeaked.

"WHATEVER!" She brandished the wrench before her like a sword and her cheeks flushed with anger, "If you think that I'm going to be your personal slave just because I'm a girl, then you've been spending way too much time around Wufei-kun!" With that she threw down the wrench and proceeded to practically throw herself off of the cockpit door, catching the cable just in time to keep from enjoying a pleasant plummet to a quick and painless broken neck.

Duo sighed, for now just relieved that he'd managed to get her away from the wrench and FAR away from Deathscythe. She was a cheerful, delightful, and sometimes intriguing girl . . . but even he couldn't deny the fact that Usagi was simply dangerous. He looked down on the floor and saw he huff across the room and out of the basement, slamming the door behind her. He winced when the metal clanged loudly. From Altron Wufei turned to him and gave a small, Wufei-ish smirk that Duo could read only too well.

_Real smooth, Maxwell._

He sighed and returned into the cockpit to work on repairs. He could deal with Usagi later.

* * *

_I accept Romafeller's invitation, Dorothy. I see this as an excellent opportunity not only to tell them my intentions as Sanch's ruler, but also to learn what their intentions are towards my kingdom._

Relena sighed as she remembered those words. Why had she said them? Because they were true, that's why. And because no matter how much she now wanted peace and believed in the pacifism of her family, Relena did want to see the men behind OZ. The true murderers of her adopted father. She wanted to see if they were completely corrupt individuals, or if just perhaps she might be able to make them listen to her and her ideals.

She smoothed down the front of her white and lavender Sanch uniform. In previous days, or in another kingdom, the princess might have worn a feminine gown to play off her delicacy and helplessness. Not Princess Relena Peacecraft, oh no, she wore the same coat, vest, and breeches that the diplomats under her wore. She had no desire to wear a dress and be seen as a defenseless teenage princess with little strength and less brains. Relena was intelligent and knew the policies of her father, and the political ramifications of those policies. And she wanted Romafeller to see her not as a weak princess, but as a strong and capable ruler. She sighed, looking over herself once more in the mirror to be certain that everything was in place.

"You're going to meet Romafeller."

She was so used to hearing that low voice at the most unpredictable moments that she didn't even jump. Relena shifted to the side and in the mirror could now see the shadowed silhouette of Hiiro leading in the doorway. His arms were, as usual, crossed, but instead of glaring at the ground, his Prussian blue eyes were locked sternly on her.

"Yes," she answered, even though his words had not formed a question, "I was sent an invitation to meet them through Dorothy Catalonia."

"Duke Durmail's grand-daughter."

"It's an excellent opportunity—"

"To get yourself killed." Hiiro pushed himself away from the doorframe and stalked into the room, fisted hands swinging at his sides. His mouth was set into a firmer line than usual, and Relena had the feeling that something was very different, but what it was she couldn't be certain. "Romafeller will betray you the moment they realize you can't be used for their purposes."

"Hiiro," Relena smiled, knowing that the gesture would result in that adorable baffled expression from him that she loved so much, "you've been trained not to trust anyone, because they could be a spy. I've been raised to trust everyone, because people change. Neither one of us can go against what we've been taught." She bowed her head and folded her hands before her, walking past him towards the door.

"I've already disobeyed orders once, Relena," Hiiro's voice followed her, carrying with it the undeniable sense that yes, something about him was different. She knew what he spoke of.

"I know." She stood still, knowing that he wasn't finished.

"At least let one of us go with you."

"As a bodyguard, Hiiro?" Relena turned to face him, and felt her lips curl slightly into the smile again, "But it won't be you, will it? Of course not." Without her consent a weak, sad chuckle flowed up from her throat at his telling expression, "Well, if you would feel better sending one of the others, have them meet me downstairs in ten minutes. Paegan has the car ready." He nodded and she bowed again, walking out of the door and leaving him behind as quickly as she could.

She thought often on why she was so drawn to the boy named Hiiro Yui, but had yet to come up with a sensible answer, one that didn't make her look completely insane. Perhaps she was crazy, running all over the globe chasing after one boy, giving five known enemies of OZ political asylum in her pacifist country simply so that same boy wouldn't run away again. Maybe she was crazy, but if she was, she didn't want to be sane anytime soon. There was something about him, some quality of kindness underlying the killer exterior, that she couldn't ignore. What if she didn't love him? What if she only felt pity for him, being so young and already so vicious? Well then, she would, as they say, cross that bridge when she got there.

Relena stepped off of the bottom stair outside, not expecting any of the pilots to have made it in ten minutes. She was surprised to see Trowa standing beside Paegan, the both of them waiting for her. The tall boy was dressed as she was, in the diplomatic uniform of Sanch.

"I assume you are to be my bodyguard?" she asked, one hand clenching at her chest as it tended to do when she was anxious.

"Yes," he replied shortly, with an accompanying nod.

"Then we should be going. I hear Romafeller is not the most patient of organizations." She slid forward into the seat as Paegan held the door for her. Trowa slipped inside beside her, and Relena noticed his green eye surveying everything, as if he thought someone might have planted a bomb in her car.

"I assure you, Mister Barton," Paegan commented from the front, "that this car is always checked thoroughly three times before Princess Relena ever sets foot in it." Apparently Paegan had seen the boy's roaming eye as well.

"Good," was the extent of Trowa's reply. Relena noticed, however, that his subtle search did not cease.

_Hiiro certainly chose wisely._

She couldn't keep her gaze from climbing the palace walls, scouring the windows for some glimpse of Hiiro. Was that curtain falling back into place? Would he even be watching? Probably not. She didn't even know if he felt the same for her as she thought she did for him.

"Go on, Paegan. We can't keep Romafeller waiting."

* * *

Usagi watched Relena's car pull away from a first story window. Why had Trowa gone with her? Surely the last place the Gundam pilot wanted to be was in the middle of Romafeller. From what small snatches of conversation she'd been able to pick up, Usagi understood that Romafeller was behind OZ. Unfortunately, all of the pilots seemed to either think she was too delicate to know what was truly going on, or still too untrustworthy. Even after OZ had nearly beat her to death!

She didn't have much time to be angry about that, though. As Relena's car approached the gate and slowly slid through its metal maw, the moon princess was suddenly nearly strangulated by the sense of danger. Usagi stood there, hand pressed to her chest, gasping for air, wide eyes unmoving from the ground.

"Usagi-san!"

Strong hands gripped her shoulders, steadying her and she realized that she had been about to fall over. Moments passed as she gathered her breath back and finally was able to breathe with some semblance of normalcy. Looking up, her eyes met worried indigo orbs.

"Duo-kun . . . arigatou."

"No problem. I just came to apologize for being such a jerk earlier. Are you okay?"

"Iie," she answered, slipping into Japanese, "kitai—"

"Whoa, Usagi-san, speak English please!"

"Danger!"

She felt Duo's grip on her shoulders tighten, and his eyes narrowed.

"Danger? To who?"

"I don't know, someone in Relena-chan's car."

"Probably the princess herself; she's the most important person in that car." He released her and turned to look out the same window she had only just moments ago been watching from. His face was devoid of the usual smile that made him Duo. Instead it locked into that intense and menacing expression she knew only too well by now heralded destruction for anyone who dared to stand in his way. "Damn! If anything happens to Relena, not only will Hiiro kill us all, but Sanch will be without a strong ruler to lead it peacefully. It'll most likely fall into Romafeller's hands."

"Which is probably their intention." Usagi stepped closer to him, aware that her own visage had hardened into a serious expression much like his. "We can't let them go like that, Duo-kun."

"Are you sure about this?" He dropped the curtain and straightened, doubtful eyes searching her face, "I mean, we don't want to go chasing after them on a hunch that turns out to be nothing."

"I learned a long time ago to trust my 'hunches' Duo-kun," she spat at him in anger, eyes turning steely, "but if you don't trust me still, ask Quatre. I'm sure he'd be able to tell you the same!"

Duo flinched at her accusation, but didn't reply immediately. He looked away from her, to the floor at her feet, and deliberated for what seemed like hours as she waited. Finally, when he did look up at her, Usagi saw the apology in his eyes.

"Let's go talk to Quatre."

"Fine. Lead on."

Duo winced again, and Usagi felt sorry for hurting him with her sharp tone. But she couldn't help being angry. He'd just proven her suspicions; the pilots still didn't trust her completely.

She followed him through the many winding corridors of Sanch Palace, towards the common room where the pilots often met. It was something like a living room in a normal house, only it also had a corner that could be used as a study as well as a fireplace and other, more comfortable furniture. It was on the couch that they found Quatre, reading a book in what appeared to be French. Maybe it was Spanish, Usagi never could tell the difference. Quatre looked up as they approached, and by the way he instantly straightened, Usagi knew that he could tell something was going on.

"What's wrong?"

Duo explained what had happened, and Quatre glanced from him to Usagi, obviously concerned. But when he reached out with his empathy, he turned to her and shook his head apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Usagi-san, but I don't fell they're in danger. Everything is normal."

"Right now it is! But it won't stay that way!"

"How do you know that?" Duo turned on her, hands to either side in questioning.

"I _felt_ it," she growled back, feeling as if she were being cornered on either side.

"But that's the future. The only time I've ever seen the future was when I piloted Wing Zero, and then it wasn't me, it was the machine showing me the future."

"What about your empathy? Use that to feel the danger; it's there!"

"I can only sense what's happening in the present," Quatre explained with a sigh, rising from the couch, "I can't sense the future. I don't . . . I don't think it's possible with empathy." The blonde colored with what Usagi knew to be shame and looked away from her.

"So, what?" she asked, looking back and forth between the two, "We just sit here and wait for something to happen? You're willing to risk the safety of Relena-chan and Trowa-kun in order to wait on the chance that I might be wrong?" This time it was both boys that winced. "And to think—"

_And to think that Trowa-kun loves you!_

Usagi stopped herself and spun around before the entire thought could escape her mouth. Anger was no reason to let slip a secret like that one, that Trowa trusted her with. She stood there, fists clenched to her sides, pulling in deep breaths to calm herself. Silence filled the spaces of air between them, and the girl imagined that the two were throwing I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-her looks at each other behind her back.

"We'll wait here," she finally said, turning around to face them, "and see what happens. I just hope that Trowa-kun can handle whatever does happen on his own."

* * *

Serenity turned away from the television. The announcement of Princess Relena's arrival at Romafeller's headquarters had just aired, and for the former NeoQueen it was a landmark. It wouldn't be long now before what she was dreading happened. The incident with Relena marked the beginning of the time that Serenity cared not to think about, and had managed to forget for all of these millennia. Until now, of course.

She would need help. She couldn't go through this alone.

If she remembered correctly, Ami would be leaving Earth soon anyway. All that was left was to gather the others.

She flipped on her vidphone, and paused, watching the black and white static dance across the screen while it waited for her to make her decision. Who to call first? Rei? No, she'd call that insufferable Mars last. Ami already knew, or at least had some clue. Venus, Minako, would feel the need to bring her . . . "medical" advice with her. Serenity pondered, and finally dialed a number on the keypad.

"Hai?" answered the sleepy voice and visage of the former Queen Uranus.

"Uranus, Haruka-san, ohayo gozimasu." Serenity gave a smile to the most protective of her Senshi friends. During the battle with Galaxia's Sailor Ana-mates, Haruka had acted to protect her when the rest of her friends . . . well, Serenity preferred not to think of that either.

"Koneko-chan," Haruka grinned, delivering the old nickname as if they were back in Tokyo and Serenity was still a silly teenager, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I wish it were pleasure," Serenity answered, lifting a hand to massage the growing pain in her temple, "but unfortunately, it isn't."

"I see." Haruka's face instantly melted into seriousness, "Then what is it?"

"I have to call the others as well, so I don't have time to explain it all now. But I need you and Michiru-san to get here as fast as you can. Please don't ask me any questions now, trust me, they'll all be answered when you get here."

"Alright." Haruka nodded, and Serenity could see the woman's attention focus on something off-screen. Another voice, vaguely familiar but too far away to recognize, filtered through the connection. At last Haruka turned her gaze back to the screen and Serenity, "Don't bother calling Hotaru-chan. She's here, and she heard. She'll be coming with us."

"Good, arigatou."

"Ja ne, Koneko-chan."

Serenity pressed the button to terminate the connection and immediately went to dialing Makoto's number. Perhaps if she were lucky, Makoto would volunteer to call Minako and Rei for her. The golden-haired woman certainly didn't need either scolding or suffocating at the moment.

_Ah well, it's all things we do for our friends._

* * *

Hours flew by, surprising Duo, who was used to time trudging along like an old man wading through mud. Perhaps it was his worry that he and Quatre had made the wrong decision. Or maybe it was the simple fact that as more and more time passed, that worry melted into the horrible suspicion that they had. Or maybe it was Usagi's eyes boring into him accusingly.

He sighed and turned his gaze out of the window again. How long did a conference like that one take anyway? Shouldn't they have been back long ago?

"Quatre?"

"I still don't feel anything."

"Usagi-san?"

"They won't make it back to the palace."

"Duly noted," Duo replied with an angry sarcasm. He was tired of her attitude and the way she acted as if he were on OZ officer keeping her prisoner. He was tired of sitting around here waiting, and of the nervous way Quatre picked at the binding of his book with his fingernails. He was tired of the window and the walls and the damn books all sitting on their shelves as if nothing at all were wrong and the rest of the world should just sit down and read. Plainly put, he was pissed off. And for no other reason than the waiting had made him jumpy.

Hiiro and Wufei had both entered briefly, only to leave in the same moment. Each of them knew better than to test the patience of any of the three.

As he glowered there at the window, arms crossed, neither of his companions said a word to each other. The agitation in the air was pulled tight, a rubber band that could snap at any moment. The question was would it snap back in on itself and relieve the pressure, or would it break? No one dared to speak and find out.

_This is stupid. I shouldn't have started all this. I should have listened to Usagi in the first place and gone after them. It's not too late, we can still leave, nothing has happened. We can get there in time, and whether something is going to happen or not, we'll be there. It's just safer that—_

Usagi and Quatre pitched forward at the same time, both mouths open in silent screams.

"Oh shit!" Duo stood paralyzed, eyes flickering back and forth between the two. What was he supposed to do? Just his luck something would finally happen, but the two people who were supposed to help him were incapacitated. "Dammit you two," he finally screamed, "get up! You can't help anybody laying on the floor!"

Quatre was the first to respond, pushing himself from the ground slowly. His blue eyes never wavered from the door, and only one word escaped his mouth.

"T-Trowa . . ."

The word seemed to give Usagi strength, for in the next moment she was up as well, helping Quatre to stand. Duo couldn't understand what they were feeling, but he could tell from the sweat streaking down their strained faces that it was painful. He followed them, doing what he could to keep the two going as they headed towards the secret mobile suit hanger below the palace.

"What's happened?"

"Hiiro," Quatre gasped out, pushing himself away from Usagi's supportive but equally weak embrace, "Trowa . . . Relena . . . something—"

That was all the Wing pilot needed. He spun on his heels and raced down the corridor ahead of them, and a few moments later they all heard the unmistakable sound of Wing Zero speeding off into the skies. Duo felt torn between doing the same and staying behind to make sure that Quatre got safely to a suit.

"Go on," the blonde insisted, pushing Duo forward, "I'd rather you be there . . . be doing something to help Trowa . . . than have you wait for me."

The braided one paused, but the look in not only Quatre's eyes, but Usagi's as well, made his decision for him. He nodded and turned to follow in Hiiro's footsteps. Leaving them behind, Duo was determined to do whatever he could to make sure that Quatre's trust in him was not misplaced. He charged through the hanger door and across the floor to Deathscythe. The few seconds it took for the cable to take him upwards seemed like tiny eternities, and so did the time it took to power up the Gundam and get it into the air.

_Which way? Which way did Hiiro go? Which way is Romafeller?_

He steered Deathscythe the way Relena's horrid pink car had been heading and followed that path with the certainty he knew he had to have. He couldn't afford to be unsure of his direction. Trowa and Relena couldn't afford it either.

His eyes searched the ground below, looking for any sign of . . .

Blaster fire!

Duo grinned, accelerating Deathscythe towards the bright melee that had caught his eye. Hiiro had probably taken out the majority of the trouble makers by now, but hopefully he'd left a few for Shinigami.

"Make way for Death, mortals!" he cried over the comm system as he came closer, and he heard the confused shouts of other soldiers at the declaration. This only caused him to laugh harder, and he knew that the sound could be, and was, eerily evil when filtered through the machine.

Deathscythe broke through the trees just in time to slice downwards with his energy weapon and send one unfortunate soldier into oblivion.

"Make way for Death, because I don't brake for bastards like you!"

"It's another Gundam!"

"Let's get out of here!"

"Yeah!"

The remaining enemy soldiers retreated, sending jets of exhaust swirling around the two Gundams standing on the quiet, country road.

"Cowards." Duo opened the cockpit and leaped out, following Hiiro towards the battered remains of the car belonging to Relena Peacecraft. There were no movements coming from inside, and no sounds either. Duo gulped, cursing silently. He dared a glance sideways at Hiiro. Stoic as always. The Wing pilot slipped forward and ducked into the passenger seat.

"It's Relena," he offered in monotone, "and she's alive, just unconscious." A moment as Hiiro turned his attention to the driver. "Paegan's alive too."

"Good, now all we have to do is find Trowa." Duo watched Hiiro cradle Relena carefully in his arms and take her from the car. He laid her gently on the ground a few feet away, and there was no mistaking the tenderness with which he handled her. Then, with much less emotion and more duty, Hiiro proceeded to retrieve Paegan, and this time Duo helped. "Where IS Trowa?"

He watched Hiiro lift his eyes from the two on the ground and survey the area carefully.

"The other side of the car."

Of course, it was the only logical answer. Either that, or Trowa had abandoned two injured people in a car that was badly damaged and might explode, depending on the state of the gas tank. The second was not an option.

Duo hopped up, vaguely aware of the roar of approaching mobile suits, and hurried around the vehicle to search for his missing comrade.

Trowa lie face down, gun still in his limp hand.

"Damn." Duo kneeled next to the boy and carefully rolled him over. There was a blaster burn in the center of Trowa's dark sweater. "Damn," the braided-one repeated, bowing his head even as he checked for a pulse. As he expected, there was none.

"I found him," he called to Hiiro, voice cracking, "he's dead."

End Chapter Thirteen


	15. Chapter 14

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing – Chapter Fourteen**

Hiiro was beside Duo in a moment, kneeling over the already paling body of the boy they all knew as Trowa Barton. The burn on his chest was unmistakable; one of the enemy mobile suits had fired on him. From the looks of things, the suits had attacked Relena's car, causing it to crash into the tree. Trowa had remained conscious and exited, trying to protect Relena, as Hiiro had trusted him to do. But what was one boy with a gun against multiple mobile suits?

"Dammit!" Duo fell back from his crouch, crashing into the ground. He'd failed.

_I should have listened to Usagi. She tried to warn us, but I wouldn't listen. Trowa is dead because of my doubt. _

Vaguely Duo heard the faint shufflings of tired footsteps from the other side of the car. He heard Usagi's voice when she saw the unconscious Relena, and Quatre's shaking question about Trowa.

"Where is he?" Duo heard, "I can't feel him!"

"Over here." Hiiro stood, doing what Duo couldn't. He waved Usagi and Quatre over, showing them exactly where to find the fallen boy. They were not the only two to arrive; Noin and Wufei followed soon after.

"T-Trowa?" Quatre's shimmering blue eyes landed on the pale, lifeless form of the Heavyarms pilot. Noin and Usagi caught him on either side when his knees gave out. "Nooo . . ." the word sounded more like a moan, and Duo thought the boy looked close to passing out. Quatre sagged into the strength of the two girls' arms, uncaring that Usagi was just as weak as he. He couldn't seem to take his gaze from Trowa's body.

"I'm sorry, Quatre," Duo tried to stand, sobs blocking his throat, making it difficult to force the words out, "It's my fault, I should have listened to Usagi—"

"Usagi-san!" Quatre whirled on her suddenly, his slender fingers curling into her shirt, eyes wide and desperate, "Usagi-san, you can help him! I know you can!" For her part, Usagi looked on him with eyes that not only showed her sorrow, but were filled with an apprehension she'd not exhibited since she first arrived. "PLEASE!" Quatre's voice rose, shrieking his desperation to the skies.

"Quatre-kun . . ." she began, but Hiiro stepped forward and place a hand on the boy's shoulder, interrupting her.

"He's dead," the stoic one stated, "There's nothing anyone can do. We should go back to Sanch Palace now, and take—"

"SHUT UP!" Quatre released Usagi's shirt long enough to push Hiiro away, face flushed with suffering and sudden rage. They all took a step back from him, and Hiiro's eyes were large with shock. The last remnants of the blonde's shout echoed into stillness, and not even the birds dared to continue their song afterwards. All was silence as Quatre's crazed gaze settled on the each in turn, daring anyone to speak again. At last, it was Usagi that took the challenge.

"Quatre-kun is right. I can heal him."

"Usagi-san!" Noin hissed from Quatre's other side. The golden-haired girl didn't bother to even glance in the woman's direction. Instead she merely disentangled herself from the boy's grip and left him to the gentle care of the lieutenant. She walked to the middle of the ring created by the pilots all standing around. Duo watched her approach Trowa's body. Then, she did a very strange thing.

"Setsuna-san," she spoke into the air, "I know you're watching this. I need you to come here."

Instantly, it was as she commanded. One moment Usagi was alone in the center of the circle, the next moment Setsuna was standing beside her. The maroon-eyed one peered at Usagi with a cautious gaze, knowing as much as Duo did that this was a very different situation than any faced before.

"It's time," Usagi said before Setsuna could ask what she wanted, "I need the Crystal."

"No, I can't—"

"Give it to me, Setsuna-san."

The Guardian backed away from the girl, shaking her head slowly.

"I'm sorry, Usagi-chan, but I can't. I can't risk—"

"SAILORPLUTO!"

Setsuna winced, as did Duo. Hearing Usagi shout in that strong, commanding voice was just as unnerving as hearing Quatre scream at Hiiro.

"Sailorpluto, I command that you return what is mine to me this INSANT!"

"Usagi-chan . . . Serenity-sama," Setsuna changed names in a tremulous inflection, and Duo could see her fight to remain standing, as though every pore in her body were trying to force her into a bow, "I_can't._"

Without another word, Usagi raised her right hand into the air, not as if waiting for something to be placed there, but more like she was beckoning someone forward. No one spoke for the next few moments; all were frightened into wordlessness by the hard, unmerciful gleam in the girl's eyes. Then, when Duo thought that this was about to become silly, something appeared in Usagi's outstretched hand.

It looked to be no more than a simple brooch, heart-shaped, with a golden moon on the inside and matching golden wings on either side. There was something, however, something exuding from that modest piece of jewelry that made all gasp in awe.

"Usagi-chan, iie!" Setsuna moved to reach for the brooch, only to be driven backwards by a bright flash of white light.

Usagi stared at the beaten Guardian through serene eyes, as if the state of her friend were merely another circumstance that couldn't be helped. With a sad sort of sigh she raised the magnificent brooch over her head and opened her mouth.

"Moon Crisis- Make UP!"

Duo felt his own eyes widen to an impossible size. It only made sense; what he was seeing was impossible.

The light wasn't white this time, it was golden. He thought, for the slightest of moments, he saw a thousand rainbow colored butterflies flutter around Usagi's outstretched arms, but they were gone in the next moment if they had existed at all. The golden light expanded and became so radiant Duo's eyes couldn't endure to gaze on it any longer and he was forced to look away. Still squinting, he could see that the others were having the same problem. None of them were looking at Usagi, instead covering their eyes with their hands or bowing their heads. The light was so brilliant, so filled with beauty and benevolence, that once it finally receded, Duo's mind begged for it to return.

He blinked, then turned his gaze back to Usagi.

It wasn't Usagi standing there anymore. It was some silver-haired, crystal-eyed celestial being. She was dressed in a sailor suit like Setsuna, but hers was different, having pink and yellow stripes on a white skirt, and a shimmering, transparent bow that fell to her knees. The brooch perched in the middle of the red bow on her suit, and encircling her forehead was a golden tiara, a crescent moon sigil glowing from between her eyebrows.

"Usagi-san?" Duo murmured as the angelic vision kneeled over Trowa's body, ignoring his tentative inquiry.

"Super Sailormoon," Setsuna corrected him in a quiet voice, raising herself slowly from the ground, where she'd watched the transformation.

The question 'What's a Super Sailormoon?' drifted to the end of Duo's tongue, but he squelched it at the moment. Instead he watched the girl he knew as Usagi-san, and saw her brooch slowly flip open, as if controlled by an invisible hand. Inside glittered a crystal that seemed to dance although it stayed in its place within the brooch. Super Sailormoon ran her hand lightly over Trowa's face, then down to the burn on his chest. Duo barely heard her next words, and only did because he was so close.

"Moon Healing Escalation."

The meaning of those strange words became clear in only a second, when the crystal began to glow with even more light than before. This was the white light, the purest illuminance any of them could ever hope to see. This was . . . this was . . .

The light of Heaven.

It flowed from the shining crystal, from Super Sailormoon, and infused itself into Trowa's body. Before Duo's eyes the burn healed itself, the skin then coloring from pale grey to normal, healthy pink in moments. Under the regenerative light of this strange gem and its owner, Trowa looked full of health and almost alive.

The boy's visible eye shot open and he pulled in a strained, racking breath. Everyone save Quatre and Setsuna shot away from Trowa, Hiiro stumbling over Noin in his haste to get away. Even Duo, who could see this as nothing less than a miracle, wanted to be far away.

"Oh God . . ." he heard the words fall from his lips before he knew he'd thought about uttering them, "Oh God!"

_It's like Lazarus! She raised him from the dead!_

He surprised himself by even remembering the name of Lazarus.

Duo watched Super Sailormoon take Trowa by the hand and smile, then help the tall boy stand up on his own two, alive feet. His green eye never left her blue gaze, as though he were mesmerized, held in her orbs like fish in a glass tank. Ever so slowly his free hand rose to his chest, feeling the burnt hole in his shirt and the whole, healthy skin beneath. Fear entered his eyes.

"Trowa!" Quatre struggled himself from Noin's distracted grasp and pitched forward, tripping over his own feet and falling straight into Trowa, who released Super Sailormoon's hand just in time to catch the frantic blonde.

All watched in throat-constricted silence as Quatre sobbed into Trowa's healed chest, fingers gripping the boy's arms tightly, as if he were afraid they would slip away. Trowa said nothing, looking down at the smaller one in much the same way as he had that first day Setsuna brought him to Earth. Then that mystified expression melted into something softer, and he wrested his arms from Quatre's hold, sliding them gently around his waist instead. The blonde's tearful eyes widened a bit as Trowa lowered his lips to Quatre's ear, and whispered something that no one else heard, or had the right to hear. The sobbing cry of joy that escaped the pale boy's throat was enough to let them know that happiness was the proper emotion to feel.

"It's a miracle," Duo murmured to no one but himself, "A miracle . . . an honest to God miracle."

* * *

Through the spotless lace curtains draping the Sanch Palace windows, Mizuno Ami watched the Gundams and Sanch mobile suits approach. The one time soldier and Queen of Mercury passed her blue-black gaze over each of them, wondering in which one Usagi was. Surely it was Deathscythe; Duo would have offered to bring her back to Sanch. Or perhaps she rode with Noin, as she had on the way out. Ami backed away from the window and placed her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat. The only sound was the stern clicking of her heels against the hard floor. Presently she found herself on the catwalk overlooking the mobile suit hanger.

To her surprise, it was not Deathscythe that Usagi exited, but Altron. Nor was she plain Usagi, but dressed in the sailor fuku of Super Sailormoon. Ami heard her gasp echo in the silence of the hanger before she realized she'd made such a sound. All eyes turned upwards to her, among them a soft and familiar pair of swirling blue.

"Ami-chan."

"Super Sailormoon." Ami breathed with a respectful bow of her head. The surprised and suspicious looks of the Gundams pilots did not escape her, but they were of no importance to the knowledge that she now possessed, "You have the Silver Crystal, then?"

"Hai."

_It's time then . . . it has to be. But . . . I can't. No matter how much Setsuna-san says it must happen, I can't do it. _

"Are there any injuries?" she asked, falling into the accustomed role of everyone's doctor, surveying each person for evidence of cuts or bruises. But Sailormoon merely smiled serenely up at her and replied:

"Not anymore."

Ami sighed, seeing Hiiro help Relena down from the cockpit of Wing Zero, and Noin following Paegan out from her white Taurus suit. "I see." Stiffly the short-haired woman traveled the metal steps down to the hanger floor, serious eyes trained on the young version of her Queen. "You can't keep doing that, Usagi-chan. You can't waste your energy; you know how the Silver Crystal affects you."

Sailormoon gave a smile and a calm chuckle, making Ami blink in surprise.

"My—" the golden-haired one stopped, glancing at the pilots, before starting again, "The Queen never told you? After our battle with Sailorgalaxia, my control over the Crystal got stronger. It doesn't drain me to use it anymore."

"I thought . . ." Ami had been about to say that she thought Serenity's control over the Crystal had come with her ascension to the throne of Crystal Tokyo. But she thought better of it when she saw Setsuna pop into existence over Sailormoon's shoulder.

"Ami-chan," the Guardian spoke, causing all to spin and look at her. She stood there, hand closed about her ever present Time staff, and the stern expression on her face revealed to Ami that something had happened while everyone was away, something that Sailorpluto did not appreciate at all. "It's time."

"No! I won't do this, Setsuna-san. I can't. It's too much for her. It was too much then, and it's too much now." Blue-black stared down maroon for a second time, and neither seemed ready to back down. Ami saw Setsuna's hand clench tighter about the Time staff, and she pulled her hands from her pockets, prepared to henshin should it be necessary. She raised her hand higher in the air and opened her mouth, primed to shout the words.

"Stop it!"

Both Senshi, along with five pilots and two civilians who were growing more confused by the moment, turned to Super Sailormoon. She frowned at her two soldiers, who both colored a bit in shame to realize that they had been about to attack each other, something no Senshi was ever supposed to do.

"It's time for what?" Sailormoon asked, blue eyes flickering between the two. No one spoke as she waited for one of them to answer, and Ami was determined that she would not be the one.

"It's time for me to tell you something that even you don't know, Usagi-chan," Setsuna answered, pulling herself into a stern, straight stance, trying to assert her position as the eldest and wisest person in the room. "And for Ami-chan to show you—"

"I've told you I won't do it!"

"Calm down," Sailormoon put out a hand to quell the doctor's ire, then turned to face Setsuna. "You tell us this information first, and then I will decide whether I want to see whatever it is you want Ami-chan to show me."

"Agreed. We should move to a more comfortable meeting place, and you should change." Setsuna gave Sailormoon an arched brow, looking over the girl's sailor fuku with a disapproving eye. Ami was certain that it had not been under the Guardian's advisement that Usagi had henshined.

"Alright. We'll meet in the common room in fifteen minutes." Sailormoon smiled towards Quatre and Trowa, the later of which had arrived in the care and protective arms of the former. Ami saw immediately the change in the two; it was the same change that had occurred in Usagi and Mamoru after the battle with Metallia, when they'd confessed their love for each other. She smiled. At least there was some good coming of all these events.

The group dispersed to cultivate the fifteen free minutes until they would hear what Setsuna had to say. Ami feared what would happen to them afterwards, if Usagi refused to listen to her.

* * *

Hiiro headed straight for the common room, having no desire to wait for the answers that he and his fellow pilots had been seeking since the beginning of this bizarre adventure. His mind still raced with the fresh image of Trowa, dead for at least twenty minutes, opening his eyes and taking that first, gasping breath. How many impossible things had happened since Setsuna first interfered with their lives? Too many. Hiiro liked things nice and explainable. This certainly did not fit that description.

At the door to the common room he glanced up to see Duo already there, leaning against the wall, eyes resting on the floor thoughtfully. The boy was pale, obviously shaken up by what he'd witnessed. Hiiro didn't blame him. Who wouldn't be unsettled by such an experience?

"You okay?" he asked, not really knowing why. He'd never cared if Duo, or any of the other pilots for that matter, were healthy or not before.

Duo flicked his indigo eyes towards Hiiro briefly, before returning them to the marble plain beneath his feet.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I just . . . don't know what to believe any more."

That comment sounded suspiciously like one rooted in Duo's past, something that Hiiro had no urge to know anything about. So he merely gave a curt nod and turned, entering the room silently. He took up a seat in a leather chair near the couch and fixed his gaze to the far wall, waiting.

The wonderful thing about being the Perfect Soldier is that thought is merely something that floats around with no real purpose except when it helps the mission. Therefore, Hiiro was able to sit in the exact same position for the entire fifteen minutes without a single thought in his head to make him edgy about how much time had passed. He did not rouse himself from the trance until his subconscious mind, trained to notice these things, told him that all of the necessary people were present and accounted for. He blinked and looked to Setsuna just in time to hear her first words.

"I've been keeping secrets from you all, and I will continue to keep secrets after this day. What I am going to say is mostly for Usagi-chan, and not for you, but you will be involved in the events that are going to occur, so I am allowing you to listen."

Hiiro scowled.

"Your scientists, who built your Gundams and supposedly designed the first mobile suit over twenty years ago, were only following the designs of someone else."

"What?!?" Duo's outburst was becoming so common in these discussions that no one paid any attention to him.

"The first mobile suit was actually built three-thousand years ago, for the use of a powerful Queen in a war everyone thought was impossible to win otherwise." Setsuna gave a meaningful glance to Usagi, who was once more clothed in the tank top and pants she first donned for training. The golden one nodded in silent understanding, and the Guardian continued, "This Queen had a tool that was extremely powerful, but there was no way to focus this power in such a way as to be effective in this war. So she had her leading scientist design and build such a weapon for her, one that would act as a focus for the energy of her tool."

"I'm sorry, Setsuna," Quatre said from his position beside Trowa on the couch, "but what you're saying is simply impossible. The people three-thousand years ago simply didn't have the technology to build a mobile suit."

"It's true," Ami said quietly, hard eyes looking up and into Setsuna's own gaze, as if somehow the Guardian was at fault, "The people of that time period _invented_ the technology needed to build not just a mobile suit, but a Gundam. I know this for a fact because the scientist who built it was . . . was my ancestor."

Hiiro noticed the pause in Ami's answer, and wondered what it could mean. It was another piece in the puzzle of how Usagi knew this woman, and just like the others, this piece had odd edges that just didn't seem to fit.

"The Queen used the Gundam," Setsuna resumed, "called Alpha, for only one battle in her war. After that one time, she ordered the suit to be hidden away and the plans destroyed, and no one knows exactly why." Another glance to Usagi. "But the plans weren't destroyed, were they Ami-chan?"

"No." Hiiro watched Ami bite her bottom lip in angry guilt, "No they weren't. My . . . ancestor . . . was too proud of her work. She thought it was her best achievement ever, and instead of destroying the plans she hid them away. She thought it would be a terrible thing if such a possible protection for Earth was destroyed forever."

"How do you know all of this?" Hiiro asked, feeling that there was something the woman wasn't telling them, some fragment of information she was keeping from them, like Setsuna.

"Her journals," Ami replied a little too slowly, after what appeared to be fervent thought, "She wrote it all down in her private journals."

"Did she happen to write down the location of the hidden Gundam?" Wufei leaned forward, eyes boring into the woman. Obviously he felt the same distrust of her that Hiiro did.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Ami spat back, anger blazing in her eyes. Her eyes . . . there was something in them that reminded Hiiro of Setsuna. Some . . . _age_.

"Is that what you want Ami-chan to show me?" Usagi asked quietly, looking up at Setsuna as a child unsure of itself would look at a parent. The Guardian gazed downward with a shaky attempt at a comforting smile and nodded.

"And I won't! That thing is—"

"It could help us defeat OZ!" Duo leaped from his seat, braid swishing behind him as he moved about, pacing in a frantic sort of way. Hiiro glanced from him to Ami, who was shaking her head in wide-eyed horror. But . . . the idea had merit. If such a suit did exist, another Gundam would certainly be welcomed help to their cause.

"But who would pilot it?" Quatre asked in a timid, unconvinced tone.

"I would."

Usagi sat straight under the shocked glances of the five pilots. Oddly enough, Hiiro noticed, neither Setsuna nor Ami seemed very surprised by that statement. The Guardian merely nodded, and Ami sank back in her chair with a shattered gaze.

"Usagi-san," began Trowa, who had been silent until now, "you've done more than enough for us, and you've already taken enough from OZ. There's no reason for you to fight."

"There is," she replied, "I have to."

"Usagi-chan is right. No one else can pilot that suit." Setsuna's voice was low, matter-of-fact, but a strange undercurrent of remorse ran beneath her words. She advocated Usagi as the sixth pilot, but there was at least some part of her that did not want it. Hiiro's eyes narrowed as he wondered why the woman would support Usagi in this, if it was not what the Guardian wanted.

"Show it to me," Usagi said as she stood, the familiar glint of determination in her eyes. They all knew that Ami didn't want her near it, but she was doubtless curious. She wanted to see it, and nothing would stand in her way. If it did, he, she or it would most likely be trampled.

"Alright," Ami sighed, defeated without really giving an argument. Apparently she knew this tenacity well, and didn't even attempt to try and dissuade Usagi. She pushed herself up from the chair by its arms and crossed the room, leading them all out into the hallway. Hiiro thought he heard her mutter something that sounded like, "We will all regret this."

* * *

Through the corridors and around corners Ami lead them, the entire group moving through silence. The doctor briefly stopped at the hospital wing to check on Relena and Paegan, allowing Duo to gape at the sight of a complete hospital inside the Sanch Palace. Quatre thought he heard the braided one mutter something, but it was obviously not meant for prying ears.

"What's going on?" Relena asked them quietly, her eyes darting back and forth between Setsuna and Ami, both of who wore guilty expressions on their faces.

"Nothing, Your Highness," Ami replied, putting on the imperious tone that only a doctor can pull off properly, "Lie back down, you too Paegan!" She pushed the butler back down onto his bed, ignoring the annoying glance and sneer he gave her.

The next five minutes were spent trying to convince the princess that truly, nothing at all was going on, and no, no one was in danger, why on the Earthsphere would she think anything like that? Duo had no luck with this, because he had a hard time keeping a straight face. Quatre blushed each time he tried, for he felt extremely guilty for lying to Relena, and the girl jumped away each time Trowa tried to speak to her. They'd found out that she'd see him get hit and fall before she passed out in the car. She probably didn't mean to be so jumpy but . . . well, no one could really blame her.

Wufei only scowled and didn't even try to pacify the upset princess. Only when Hiiro stepped forward and told her in his low, emotionless voice that all would be fine did Relena finally nod and lie down.

"Like she couldn't have believed me!" Duo complained once they'd left the room, "Is there a more trustworthy face anywhere but mine?"

"Only one, Duo-kun," Usagi grinned as she walked up beside him and gestured to Quatre, "Right there!"

"U-Usagi-san!" Quatre blushed again, smiling a bit as he turned away. He heard Usagi giggling and knew that he had been purposefully trying to embarrass him. It wasn't a surprise; most people liked to embarrass him because they said he was so cute when he blushed.

"She's telling the truth, though," came Trowa's hushed voice at his ear, "You are the most trustworthy of us all."

That would have made Quatre turn a brighter shade of red, had it not been such a serious and heavy statement. It had the sound of guilt hanging behind it. He dared a glance at the tall boy beside him and saw the green eye trained on the ground. Without a second thought Quatre reached over and took Trowa's hand in his, giving it a slight squeeze. Trowa didn't look at him, but the slightest of smiles crept over his face as he returned the pressure gently.

"Here we are."

They all stopped their privates conversations to look up when Ami spoke.

The doctor stood before a great, iron doorway. Quatre looked behind them to see where they were, angry with himself for being so distracted he hadn't paid any attention to what direction they were headed in. But all he saw was the long, dark stretched of a hallway.

"You still have a chance to turn back," Ami offered with a voice that cracked and peeled away, revealing her panic, "I can take you all back now without—"

"Show me."

With a shaking sigh that sounded suspiciously close to a sob, Ami pressed a sequence of buttons on the keypad, leaving her index finger pressing the last for a bit longer than usual. She flinched before taking it away and Quatre noticed the small bead of blood that welled up there. _DNA testing . . . to confirm her identity._

"Welcome, Queen Mercury," stated a cold, mechanical voice. Then the iron doors slid open with a great, ominous hum of electrical power. Darkness greeted them from inside, and even Ami, who knew what awaited them through that darkness, paused before taking a step forward. Behind her the rest of them filed into the room, huddled together in a large group, none of them feeling quite secure about this dark and rather spooky place.

Quatre heard Ami sigh; then there was a click and the lights came flooding into existence.

He had been looking to his side, so he saw Duo's reaction before he actually saw the suit itself. The braided one's mouth dropped open, his eyes getting big and round and very bright. Quatre glanced between the rest of the pilots and saw that even Wufei and Hiiro were staring in unabashed awe. At last the blonde himself looked upwards.

_By Allah . . . _

End Chapter Fourteen.


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing – Chapter Fifteen**

"It's pink."

Quatre blinked and took his eyes from the massive Gundam to look at Wufei, who was glaring up at Setsuna. The Chinese boy had his arms crossed and seemed none too happy about this mysterious Queen's color choice.

For it was, indeed, pink. Quatre tore his gaze away from Wufei to return it to the Gundam, which towered above them much in the way they towered above ants and other insignificant insects. Not only was it a bright shade of hot pink, it also was a giant even compared to their own Gundams. It also had a distinctively feminine shape. And . . . what looked suspiciously like two buns perched on the top of its metallic head.

"It has odangos," Duo murmured just loud enough for Quatre to hear, and the blonde saw his indigo eyes trail to Usagi and her own two, golden buns.

"It's gorgeous!" Usagi squealed in delight and rushed forward, standing just beside the left foot of the massive thing and staring up the complete length. She nearly fell over backwards.

"Where's the power source?" Hiiro, of course, was being the logical one.

"In the back," Ami replied, leading them all, though it was obvious that she did this reluctantly.

Around the back of the Gundam, nestled in a panel that came away from the right leg, was a small hole where something apparently fit. No one said a word. Quatre had no idea about what it was that mysteriously powered this ancient mobile suit, and none of the others apparently did either. Except . . . Duo was looking at Usagi again, and the girl had a thoughtful expression on her calm face.

"You know what to do, Usagi-chan."

"Hai." The golden one nodded at Ami and took out the brooch again, flipping it open to reveal the miraculous gem. The jewel that was just the right size to fit into the place for the power source.

"That little piece of glass is going to provide the power for a mobile suit?" Wufei crossed his arms, looking at Usagi and Ami skeptically. "Not just any mobile suit at that, but this monstrosity!"

"Alpha was built specifically to draw upon the energy emitted by this Crystal," Ami stepped forward, supplying the answer, as she always seemed to do. "Don't worry, it will be more than enough."

"I'll believe THAT when—"

Wufei was cut off when Usagi removed the gem from its place- how, no one could say exactly- and replaced it inside of Alpha's leg. Immediately came the slow hum of energy coursing through the machine, flowing through its parts and building within its weapons. The darkened eyes lit up, bright shades of glowing pink. Wufei said nothing else.

"Can she pilot it?" The next question came from Duo, who stood beside Usagi, indigo eyes dark with worry. Quarter understood; if Duo had not asked the question, he would have. Alpha seemed enormous and at a power level much beyond their own Gundams. Quatre questioned whether any of them, trained as they were, could pilot the thing. Usagi had no experience with mobile suits at all.

"She will need training," Ami sighed, taking her glasses from their perch on her nose and giving them a good wiping on the hem of her white lab coat, "Not even Usagi-chan can pilot a Gundam from pure instinct."

"We'll train her then."

Quatre nodded, agreeing with Trowa. "Yes, we have to. If she's insisting on doing this, then the least we can do is train her."

"Right," Duo agreed, and Hiiro grunted his affirmation.

"We've already taught the woman to use more mundane weapons," Wufei growled, "We might as well teach her how to use the ultimate ones. I just hope we don't regret this later, although we most likely will."

"Would you _please_ stop talking about me like I'm not here!!" Usagi gave Duo a good whap upside the head to drive her point home. "Yes, I will pilot Alpha, and I appreciate the help you guys will give me. But you can't teach someone if you treat them like they're invisible!" Her cheeks were flushed cutely in anger, and Quatre saw Duo blushing himself, watching the beautiful golden-haired girl. "Now, I think we should get started. . ."

* * *

The next couple of weeks passed in something like a state of serenity for the five pilots and their young, energetic, somewhat dangerous student. That is to say, none of them noticed the time passing because they were too busy dodging a misplaced foot or buster blast from Alpha. Ami had certainly been correct; some things Usagi could do from instinct, but piloting a Gundam was NOT one of them.

"Usagi-chan! Watch it!"

"Gomen, Duo-kun!"

"ONNA!"

"GOMEN!"

Relena sighed, gazing out of her office window. This summer "cottage" was far away from the main palace of Sanch and any unwanted onlookers, but she still worried that the bright lights and crashing trees might bring some attention to their training. Yet, did it really matter? The pilots could handle anyone who came without reason. And no one would, because Relena had given specific instructions for no one save Noin to be permitted within ten miles of the hideaway.

The truth was, she wanted to be out there with them.

Not because she wanted to learn how to pilot a dangerous weapon. No, she just wanted to be with a group of people her age, having fun, and they certainly seemed to be having fun. Even Wufei, who grumbled and crossed his arms, and who would never admit it. Even Hiiro, who must be having fun because he was doing the only thing he knew how to do. Trowa and Quatre were together, and that was all they needed. Duo always had fun, and Usagi . . . well . . . she _was_ fun. The girl was like energy wrapped up into a little ball that needed to be let out, and it was contagious.

"Miss Relena."

She turned, seeing Noin bowing in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"I have the reports you wanted." The woman stepped forward, offering a manila envelope to her young princess. Relena took it and retrieved from its depths a single sheet of paper.

"This is all of it?"

"Yes. They only had one encounter with her, on Barge, about a week after the escape of Duo Maxwell and Chang Wufei. She knocked down a guard with an energy blast—"

"'From an unidentified weapon.' The Crystal, it must be." Relena sighed and scanned over the rest of the report. "It says that she is to be captured on sight and brought to the nearest OZ installation." A pause as the princess read over the sheet twice more. Then her blue eyes lifted to the lieutenant standing before her. "Are you sure this is all? Even after the incident at Elizabeth Base?"

"Yes, there have been no more reports or orders concerning Usagi-chan, Miss Relena."

The princess set the folder on her desk and turned her gaze out the window once more. She'd been certain that there would have been more written on the girl after her rescue from OZ's Elizabeth base. She'd been expecting an order to have her killed on sight. But no, nothing, not even an update. Only the highest ranking officers would have any idea at all that Usagi had ever been captured, let alone escaped. Without an internal report the lower officers and foot soldiers would be completely in the dark.

_OZ doesn't want to admit that they made a mistake._

"Miss Relena?"

"Thank you. That will be all, Miss Noin."

"Yes." Noin bowed again and turned, leaving the princess to her own deliberations and thoughts.

_OZ can't be giving up on her so easily. What are they planning?_

* * *

Duo shook with barely contained fear. Sweat streamed down his sheet-white face as he clutched Deathscythe's controls in a vise-like grip. He felt his eyes widen until the bursting point, and managed somehow to cough instead of cry out in terror. Not two feet away from Deathscythe was a large, smoking hole in the ground.

"Gomen nasai, Duo-kun!"

"P-Perfect-tly a-alright, U-Usagi-c-chan."

"See, baka Onna! Watch your aim! Your aim is completely off! This isn't a pistol, this is a Gundam, and Duo is lucky that Deathscythe protected him, because three feet on either side of your beam is enough to fry a person!"

"I understand that, Wufei-baka!"

"Take it easy on her," Quatre's voice filtered in from Sandrock, standing not too far to Deathscythe's left, "she has to get used to the controls. It takes strength she isn't used to having to work them."

"I can't," Wufei answered sharply, "you know better than anyone the destructive power of Gundams. And we all know that an inch to the left or right could mean the lives of innocent civilians." Silence followed the Chinese boys words, a silence in which most of them wondered what Quatre would say in response, and in which Usagi wondered what they were talking about.

"It was a mistake I'll never make again." Quatre's reply was made in a voice as flat as a lake on a calm day, but everyone knows that beneath such a serene seeming surface, the water is actually teeming and swirling.

"Let's make sure, then, that Usagi-san never has to make that mistake at all."

* * *

"A toast, to the fair pilot, Usagi-san, who pilots the loveliest Gundam I've ever seen!"

Duo got an elbow in the side for that one, but he didn't care, because it was Usagi's elbow, and Usagi's elbow could never hurt him. Much.

"Hmph. To training," Wufei raised his glass, looking uncomfortable, "may it all have made it through that thick skull of hers."

"To Quatre," said Trowa, very simply, "and courage."

"Here, here," Usagi tapped her own wine glass, filled with grape juice, then raised it to meet the other three, "To . . . Time. May there always be enough of it, and may it always remain changeable."

Hiiro grunted and raised his glass without a word, though his expression revealed much.

"To peace," Relena stood and added her own glass to the menagerie, "and friendship."

All eyes then landed on Quatre, who sat quietly in his own chair, gazing into the grape juice as if it held within its deep purple depths the secrets to the universe. He had been this way since the beginning of what Relena called a celebration banquet, to "celebrate" the ending of Usagi's first four weeks of training. Truthfully, Quatre had been quiet since that day two weeks ago when Wufei had reminded him of his actions in Wing Zero. And he remained quiet now, seeming unaware that everyone was waiting for him, or that it was his turn to toast at all.

"Quatre." Trowa murmured to the blonde softly, placing his free hand on the boy's shoulder with all of the weight of a feather.

"What?" Quatre blinked and looked up, eyes shifting about the group until he realized what was going on and stood. Even then he took a moment to think, and when he finally lifted his glass, his words were choked with sorrow, "To life."

"To life," they all whispered, Usagi with tears in her eyes. Even Duo wiped his eye, though under the pretense of some annoying eyelash or other sort of ocular invader.

"Let us eat then, shall we?" Relena gestured to the table and its opulent spread.

The five . . . six . . . pilots sat at their places and began to eat, minds mostly wiped clean of thoughts of fighting, or war, or training. For this single moment in time they were allowed to forget all of that and be teenagers. For one, small moment.

* * *

Doctor Mizuno Ami sat in her seat on the transport rocketing through space towards the L2 colony cluster. A nice doozy of a headache was just settling right between her eyebrows. _What next, Kami-sama?_ She leaned back, closing her eyes and massaging her forehead. On the back of the seat in front of her, the vidphone snapped on and gave a much too cheerful chip, showing the face of one of the stewardesses.

"Doctor Mizuno?"

"Hai- I mean, yes?"

"There's a call for you from L2. She claims to be an old friend."

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now-"

"She says it's urgent. She wants me to at least tell you her name: Serenity."

Ami sat straight up in her seat.

"Put the call through."

"Right away."

A static screen. Then:

"Ami." No sight could have been better than the smiling face of her former princess and queen. Even if the smile was strained and there were dark circles beneath Serenity's eyes.

"Serenity."

The use of suffixes had died out long ago. The Senshi had hung on to them for a little while, determined not to let any part of their culture or who they were die. But after a few centuries they finally decided to give them up, and the world had seemed . . . less colorful without them.

"I'm glad to see you on your way. I'm surprised I remembered that Setsuna sent you. How are they, on Earth?"

"The boys are fine. They're teaching Usagi-chan . . . you, how to pilot Alpha. It was strange, watching that before I left. It was almost like seeing you in that thing again, incinerating hordes of Black Moon Family soldiers. And I finally know now why you had me build it in the first place. You thought you could handle it, being older and more powerful than before, didn't you?" Ami paused, looking at the silent visage of her queen, the eyes that said so much with a hue of serene blue. "Something's going to happen, isn't it? How bad will it be?"

"It almost killed me."

"Oh Kami-sama . . ."

"That's why I need you, and the others, here. When it happens, I'll feel it all over again, and I . . . I don't know if I can do that even with you here to support me."

"Serenity . . . no . . ."

"I may not make it this time, Ami."

"I'll be there in two days."

"Hurry."

* * *

Usagi poked her head around the corner just enough so that her cerulean eyes could see into the adjacent hallway. Ah yes, there was her prey . . . slowly, silently the golden-haired one tip-toed around the wall and reached forward to pounce . . .

"Konnichiwa, Usagi-san," Quatre said the second before her hand gripped his shoulder.

"Konnichiwa, Quatre-kun." Usagi deflated quickly, having lost her chance for a sneak attack. "You're no fun to sneak up on."

He shrugged with a smile that was kind, but seemed sad nevertheless.

"I suppose that's one of the pitfalls of being an empath."

But the girl had forgotten that.

"Why are you so sad, Quatre-kun? Does it have something to do with what Wufei-baka said? I'll stomp him if you want me to."

Quatre sighed and shook his head, white-blonde bangs swishing over his forehead. His eyes locked to the marble floor and refused to move for several moments. Usagi stood, waiting patiently, beside the young boy, and when at last he began to speak again she was not prepared for what she heard.

"My father . . . was killed by his own colony. OZ had them believing the Winner family to be selfish and concerned only with their own wealth when truthfully we've given most of our money back to the colonies." He paused, then swallowed hard and it took all the strength Usagi had to keep from wrapping her arms around him in comfort. "When he died I enacted my revenge by . . . by using Wing Zero to destroy colonies. I destroyed two colonies with that Gundam before Trowa and Hiiro found me. Even then I nearly killed them both. I never could have forgiven myself if Trowa had died."

"Quatre-kun . ."

"I wasn't thinking," the boy continued relentlessly, as if to punish himself, "I let the Zero system control me and I fired at Trowa, damaging his suit beyond repair. It exploded in space. I thank Allah for the miracle that saved his life, even if it cost him the memory you had to return."

"Quatre-kun, you don't have to—"

But the dam was broken and couldn't be sealed again.

"I might have killed Hiiro too, to get to Trowa, but something stopped me, I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the vision that Zero had given me of you. Maybe some part of me already knew I loved Trowa. Maybe it was Setsuna calling my name through the viewscreen. I don't know . . ."

Tears hovered on the edges of his eyelids like suicides, and as Usagi watched, they followed each other down the cliffs of his face and dropped from his chin to the floor. She stood there, wanting to comfort him but knowing it was not her place. Quatre had always been the most sensitive of the pilots, but to actually see him cry . . . it was strange, and heartbreaking.

"Usagi-san?"

"Hai, Quatre-kun?" Her voice was soft, low, filled with her suffering on his behalf.

"Will we ever be normal? Will we ever be able to life peaceful lives? Will there ever be a day when we can walk through a town and not have to consider the fact that those people may be dead in a few hours?"

Usagi swallowed, not knowing how to answer. This Time, she knew, had been long without lasting peace. War after war had nearly drained her precious planet of its spirit and life. Even here in Sanch, where things were so much more peaceful and happy than in other places, a sense of dread settled over the citizens. They all knew that OZ wouldn't stay away forever.

Would this always be the way? Usagi shook her head to herself. She couldn't believe that. It wasn't possible for humankind to live this way for too long. War and peace both are short-lived, but peace is more sought after in the end.

"Yes, Quatre-kun," she finally answered him, with a deep conviction lording in her eyes, "you will have all of your wishes granted. I know." Holding her head high like the princess she was supposed to be, Usagi placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiled. "I _know_it."

Like the mother of the colony child shown to her, Usagi's smile washed away all of Quatre's fear and concern. His tears stopped and relief flooded his blue orbs instead. Slowly he nodded.

"I believe you. If you say this is true, then I must believe it."

* * *

Two days later, a mere two days, all Hell broke loose in Sanch.

Usagi and the boys were taking a much needed rest within the cottage while Relena made some last minute decisions which Noin promised to take to the main palace immediately. The older woman was just setting her hand on the doorknob when the ground shook and the air was saturated with the whine of flying Aries mobile suits.

"**Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Sanch Kingdom, we know you are boarding Gundam pilots and an OZ fugitive in your land!**"

"OZ?!?" Noin stumbled back from the door, eyes and mouth open wide.

"**We are willing to deal with you, Princess.**"

"Deal?" Duo growled and ducked beneath a window, peering over the sill, "Like hell, there are four of them. Plenty firepower to level this building, with us in it."

"They can't do that with Relena in here," Noin grunted, lowering herself beside him, "It reflects badly enough on OZ that they've come into Sanch at all."

"**If you give us the fugitive, we will grant pardons to all of the Gundam pilots, providing they promise to cease their terrorist activities.**"

"WHAT?!?" Duo, and everyone else, turned to a stunned Usagi. She sat in the center of the room, pale-faced and trembling, no doubt remembering the last time she had spent a luxury weekend at an OZ facility. While the others took positions at each window, Duo crawled over to the girl, careful to keep himself out of the mobile suits line of sight. "Don't worry, Usagi-san, we won't hand you over to them. There's no way in Hell we'd do that to you."

"Chan."

"Huh?"

"You can call me Usagi-chan, Duo-kun."

Duo blinked, looking at the girl with shocked eyes. How could she make such a comment NOW? Right in the middle of an OZ attack, and she's . . .

_She's granting me a closer friendship. In case . . ._

"Quiet," he snapped at her, though the exasperation he tried to evince didn't show in his eyes, "Like I said, we aren't giving you to them, so we're gonna haveta fight our way outta here. You ready for that? Your first real battle?" She didn't answer. "Usagi-sa- Usagi-chan?"

"Hai."

Duo signaled to the others, and one at a time they all began moving towards the small hallway and the back door, which would lead outside and to the hanger disguised as a barn. Inside nestled all six Gundams, Alpha being the hardest to hide. Its twin odango tended to stick out of the huge pile of hay stacked around it.

After making certain that the shaken Usagi was safely situated inside her suit, Duo traveled the line laboriously into the cockpit of Deathscythe. Everything seemed to be moving incredibly slowly, from the time it took him to boost the suit, to getting into a standing position, and finally stepping out into the encroaching sunlight from the barn's darkness. He was the first to make it outside, even before Usagi.

"Don't panic, Usagi-chan," he told her through the comm, "it's just like training, only now you have real targets."

"R-right."

Igniting Deathscythe's boosters, Shinigami surged forward in a sudden battle frenzy, striking down one of the four enemy Aries. Behind him he heard the sounds of five other engines humming to life and knew that the others were on their way. Six Gundams against three Aries . . .

"Heh, this won't last five seconds."

Fate works in strange ways.

Like Wufei letting his guard down at Elizabeth Base.

Later, Duo would realize that Ami and Setsuna both had seen it coming, or at least suspected.

"MAXWELL, PAY ATTENTION!"

Too late, Duo understood that he had made the same fatal mistake as when he let Usagi get captured . . . he let his guard down. He didn't need to turn Deathscythe to see the three Aries attacking him at once. He could see them in his mind's eye as he closed his physical orbs, waiting for the strike.

It came.

Not from the OZ suits, but from the other direction. From Alpha.

From Usagi.

* * *

Serenity paced back and forth around the small living room of her colony apartment. Her twin rivers of gold trailed behind her, batting at the floor as she walked. Where was Ami? She'd said two days . . . two days had been over at 11:00 that morning, and it was 1:00 in the afternoon! She glanced at the clock. Correction: it was 1:02! It couldn't be long now.

"Serenity, please, you're making me nervous." Rei sat on the edge of the couch, hands clenched together in her lap. Beside her Makoto made a show of sitting lazily with her arms draped over the backrest, and on her right Minako was blowing her nose into an already tear-sodden tissue. Michiru was perched precariously on the couch arm, Haruka standing beside her with a hand on the elegant woman's shoulder and a protective eye locked onto Serenity. Hotaru stood at the door, prepared to open it the moment Ami arrived.

"Where is she? She should be here by now."

"It's been a while since Ami visited you," Makoto offered with a shrug, "maybe she just lost her way."

"But she told me she'd be here before it happened!"

"She was just trying to make you feel better, Serenity no baka!" Rei growled and tossed her hair, trying to look angry and not succeeding very well, "YOU don't even know exactly when it's going to happen, how could she promise to be here before a non-existent time?"

"You don't always have to be so bitchy about being right, Rei-chan!" The suffix slipped from her mouth easily, an old habit raised to the surface once more by desperate despair. The feeling of ancient friendship the sound brought forth in them all was too much, and even Makoto and Haruka joined in the tears that followed. Serenity and Rei hugged, apologizing into each other's ears, just in case Serenity's premonition about her fate would prove true.

"She's coming," came Hotaru's hushed voice from the doorway and she laid an old, still tiny hand on the antique doorknob. Opening the door that was odd in this new era, Hotaru was the first to great Ami as the doctor came stumbling hurriedly through the entrance. Therefore, she was the last to see Serenity keel over in pain.

"Serenity!" Ami rushed forward, her hand connecting roughly with Hotaru's shoulder, the girl-woman falling backwards in the aftermath of her elder's passing.

"Usagi-chan!" Minako leaped from the couch, her hand fisted around her tissue and clenched in dread to her upper chest, just at the base of her throat. Her blue eyes were wide with terror.

But it was the raven-haired fire priestess who was first to the fallen queen's side, gripping the woman's golden head in her hands as Serenity convulsed and pitched. Writhing, mouth opening in screams that bumped against her inner throat but never quite made it out, her muscles tightened beneath Rei's searching grasp. Mars was trying to find some way to hold down her queen, keep her from hurting herself or them with her seizure-like spasms.

"Usagi, can you hear me?"

Serenity didn't answer at first, locked into a fit of a pain that wasn't her own.

Pain.

Oh . . . oh Kami-sama the pain . . .

_I hear you, Rei-chan._

She had said those words aloud, hadn't she?

No, of course not. She couldn't speak through the pain. It was syrupy, oozing through her body and her mouth, down her throat, its thick pulsings of agony searing her mind, keeping her from making any coherent sound. She knew it wasn't her pain. She wasn't hurt, nothing had happened to her own body. This pain belonged to some other person, some innocent human beings who had been puppets. Marionettes, dancing about on the strings of military politics, dancing wherever and however their puppet-master had directed them. It wasn't her pain, yet she couldn't be rid of it.

Because she was its cause.

In the present she was its cause.

In the past she had been its cause.

Present and Past were mixing together, and Usagi couldn't keep them separated anymore, because she was the Past but she was also the Present but then who would be the Future, because the Future was always malleable, formable, changeable, but that couldn't be true either because while she was the Past and the Present, she was also the Future and if in the Present she did something that she hadn't done in the Past well then the Future would be different, changed, re-formed, and she would be different but not different, because she wouldn't remember having been changed . . .

"STOOOP!!"

Blackness.

* * *

Quatre watched as the pink beam from Alpha's slender buster rifle heated the air, making the atmosphere wave like the sea during a storm. It was going to hit Duo and the three Aries suits. Duo would probably be safe, the Gundanium alloy of Deathscythe's creation being strong enough to resist most blasts . . . from normal suits. But the three OZ soldiers . . .

"Usagi-san, you're going to kill them!"

"Kill them?" There was a distinct question in her voice, and in that moment Quatre realized the pilots' mistake.

They had always told her she would be fighting mobile dolls, for they expected OZ to send their newest creations after her. They'd never bothered to mention the other types of suits . . . the ones that harbored living people inside. Usagi thought she was firing at soulless, empty machines.

He and the other four killed regularly. Usagi did not.

"Oh, Allah!"

Quatre returned his attention to the targets in time to see Duo move Deathscythe out of the way just in time to avoid the majority of Usagi's blast. The three Aries were not so lucky. Bright pink washed over their forms, the heat no doubt tearing at the fragile metal of their hulls, and already the pilots were screaming. They knew their fates.

The blonde empath expected to feel their deaths. The three pinpricks of pain in his heart were not unforeseen. The eruption of pure agony from Usagi, however, caught him unguarded. His back arched against the strikes of phantom pain he felt from her . . .

Confusion. Agony. Remorse. Grief.

"Usagi-san," Quatre managed to say through clenched teeth as his hands slipped from Sandrock's controls, "W-what's . . . h-happening?"

"Quatre?" Heavyarms strided towards Sandrock in the slowed, weighty way of Gundams.

Quatre screamed at the exact same moment Usagi did.

He felt his breath retreat into him, falling back into his lungs where he could not reach it. He closed his eyes, struggling to pull in the scant air that seemed to recoil away. Sandrock's cockpit was cramped, enclosed in misery and horror. And somewhere in his mind Quatre knew that this was merely a diluted version of what Usagi was suffering within the cruel metal grip of Alpha.

"Quatre, please, oh God, Quatre talk to me!"

Arms, wrapped around him. Thin arms, but warm all the same. Comforting.

Quatre dared to open his eyes and looked up into the drawn white face of Trowa. He turned his head, seeing Hiiro and Wufei kneeling beside him as well, concern marring their usually unbreakable masks of stoic apathy.

"Usagi-san," he choked on the words, pushing himself away from the arms he wanted to disappear into, "Usagi-san, where is she?"

Trowa released him, relief flooding his face the moment his little one had revived.

"Duo's getting her," Wufei said.

"She's . . . I don't know what happened . . . the soldiers?"

"Dead." Hiiro stood, staring down at Quatre, his mask retrieved. "Incinerated."

"She killed them. Oh merciful Allah . . ." Quatre was on his knees, and bowing with his arms crossed over his stomach in revulsion, he called on his god once more. He had done so more times in the past few days than in his entire lifetime. "She's a killer now."

"So are we, Quatre," Trowa reminded him quietly.

"But she didn't have to be! She wasn't supposed to be! She was pure, don't you see, Trowa? She was pure . . . and now she's . . . she's tainted! Because of us! Something we did caused this to happen to her! Oh Allah, forgive us . . . forgive us, sweet, merciful Allah!"

Sobbing, the blonde Arabian took his hands from his stomach and placed them flat against each other, resting them on the ground and his forehead on them. And he prayed. He prayed for forgiveness with more passion and desperation than ever before.

In the background of his prayers, Quatre could hear Duo trying to calm a raving, manic Usagi.

A mad Usagi.

Insane.

End Chapter Fifteen.


	17. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing – Chapter Sixteen**

Duo smoothed the glittering, golden strands out across his hand before running the stiff bristled brush over and through them. He'd never really realized how long or soft this curtain of gold was until two weeks ago, when he had self-appointed himself Usagi's keeper.

"I'm sorry I don't know how to make the odangos, Usagi-chan," he told her for perhaps the hundredth time, "but I tried and they looked really terrible." Each time he tried, the buns feel lopsided from her head, or allowed strands to escape in ways that they never had when Usagi herself so diligently fixed her hair. None of the different ways he had tried to duplicate the hairstyle came out looking anything like the perfect twin odango and rivers of hair that so personified Tsukino Usagi. So he alternated between letting her hair fall loose about her shoulders to the floor, or tying it into a braid much like his own. The braid was not odango, but it sufficed.

He sat behind the girl, brushing her hair as gently as he could, and after a moment of silence he stood and leaned forward, daring to take a look at her face. It was slack, as always, the dull blue of her eyes staring out of the window into nothing. He couldn't figure out what it was she might be seeing within the closed confines of her mind if she saw anything at all. She wore no expression, and the vast majority of her time she spent sitting in this same chair in front of this same window, looking out on the world, but really seeing none of it.

"Usagi-chan . . ." Duo's throat constricted, closed in on the words and forced him to take a moment to gather his emotions back into a safe, tight ball inside his chest. Almost, almost those tears had fallen. They'd been fighting to escape his eyes since he first took her from Alpha, screaming and raving about living souls and dead souls. It frightened the boy, the self-proclaimed Shinigami, for even after she had been beaten to near death by OZ, Usagi never reacted like this. She was strong, and remained that way through everything. But then . . . after killing those men . . . and now the silence that he couldn't decide was more a blessing or a curse . . . it made him wonder if perhaps Usagi's soul had finally broken.

Duo moved around in front of her, kneeling, looking up into her loose mask of a face. She didn't tilt her head down to watch him. He wasn't sure if she even knew he was there. Her hands lay in her lap, resting there only because Duo placed them there every morning. She would not move of her own accord. He had to do it for her.

He took her limp hands into his own strong ones.

"Usagi-chan . . . Usagi . . . if you're in there, please do something. Anything to let me know I'm not taking care of a living corpse. Please . . ."

Nothing.

Desperate, two weeks of keeping his sorrow and pain inside, not knowing what else to do, Duo felt his hands release hers and fall into his own lap, fingers laced together in a position they had not known in quite some time.

He wanted to pray, but he didn't think that his own words were good enough. If God truly existed then He should know what a person wanted when they prayed, even if the words didn't say it . . . right? So the braided boy opened his mouth and out tumbled the words of a prayer he learned as a child taken from the streets.

"Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy . . . thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven." He paused, the next words coming to mind, but he was unsure if they were appropriate. Hoping that he was not committing a terrible sin, Duo skipped to the end of the prayer, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the . . ."

A gentle touch lighted on his shoulder, a pressure so soft he could barely be sure he felt it.

" . . . glory . . ."

Duo lifted his head. Usagi still had not looked down at him, but she had moved. One hand no longer rested in her lap, but on his shoulder instead. Duo completed his prayer in a whisper soaked with tears of gratitude.

" . . . forever. Amen."

"Together."

He blinked.

"Together and only together. . ." The words were soft, emotionless, and perhaps meaningless, but they fell from her slack lips as if they had been perched there for two weeks waiting for this chance to fly. Duo kneeled there in silence, hopeful, expecting her to continue. The girl spoke no more.

_Usagi . . . _

"Duo."

The braided boy turned at the soft voice. In the doorway stood Noin, a towel draped over her right arm, soap and a shampoo bottle held in her left hand.

"Hey," he stood quickly, Usagi's hand falling limply from his shoulder to her side, as if she had never moved it at all. Duo paused long enough to replace the slender hand to her lap, then looked up at the waiting woman. "Have I thanked you for this?"

"Profusely." She arched a dark brow and gave up a sad but amused smirk. "It's no trouble, I've told you before, Duo. It has to be done, and I'm the only one Usagi-chan would ever give this responsibility to, if she could."

He laid an indigo glance on the top of Usagi's golden head.

"You're right, but it's still way above and beyond, you know."

Noin shrugged and moved into the room, placing her burdens gently on the bed before taking Duo by the shoulders and pushing him gently towards and through the door. Once she had him safely in the hallway, the woman sighed and smiled at him.

"I'm a servant, Duo. Whether it's OZ, Miss Relena, or Usagi-chan, I live to serve. Nothing is above or beyond for me, and I require no thanks." She grinned. "If I hear you thank me one more time, I'll lop off that braid of yours."

Mouth opened in shock at such a terribly insensitive and evil threat, Duo had the door shut in his face.

* * *

Hiiro probed the opening carefully with a screwdriver. Two hours of such probing had yet to reveal any knowledge as to what purpose exactly this particular orifice served. It was settled neatly into Alpha's right leg, in correspondence to the place the Silver Crystal was nestled into on the left leg. But this hole was shaped differently, as if to hold a different source of power. For all of the laptops on the Earthsphere, Hiiro couldn't figure out WHY the Gundam would need another power source. It wasn't as if Alpha _needed_ anymore power than it already had. It was already vastly more powerful than Wing Zero.

"Any luck?" Trowa stood behind him, arms crossed, wrench in hand.

"No."

" . . ."

"It's different than the other one."

" . . ."

"Bigger."

"Would you two stop that?" Wufei growled from his perch on Alpha's cockpit door. "It isn't helping anything."

"We could use that woman about now."

Hiiro knew that Wufei was staring at him, but he didn't bother to look up from his current work.

"You mean Setsuna?"

"Yeah."

"Well, why don't you just call her?" The Chinese boy slid down the wire, landing without trouble on the hard concrete floor. "Remember, Usagi-san just called her name and she was there. I wonder if she would do the same for us?"

"It's possible. She considers us important."

Hiiro continued his probing, making no more comments. From the corner of his eye he saw Wufei stare at him a moment, then turn around and cross his arms.

"If you're listening, Onna, we need to speak with you."

"I wanted to speak with you as well, Wufei."

All three jumped slightly. None had really expected an answer to Wufei's request into the air. But there she was, standing just off into the shadows, sailor fuku neat and clean, ever-present staff clutched in one hand. An amused smirk tilted the corners of her lips as she walked forward, the darkness shrinking backwards to reveal her face.

"I keep a window open on each of you at all times. I know when you speak about me or to me." Her statement hung in the air, because no one said a thing in response. Hiiro watched as her maroon gaze traveled upward over the expanse of Alpha Gundam, and the shine in those eyes was one of sorrow. Of regret.

"You knew this would happen." Hiiro felt his eyes go hard. He would never admit it out loud, but Usagi was as close to a dear friend as one such as himself dared to get. He would not be happy if this woman acknowledged having allowed something this tragic to occur.

"I knew. But I could do nothing. This was destiny on her part."

"Destiny?" Trowa stepped forward, a frown marring his normally placid face. Hiiro knew that Trowa felt the same about the girl who had not only restored his memories, but had saved his life as well. "How could something like this be destiny? You've told us before that she has some sort of great fate or future in store for her. How can that be, when all she can do is stare out of a window?"

"The answer to that lies in her past and who she really is. All of this is part of why I brought her here." Setsuna paused, pressing her lips together tightly for a moment. Then she sighed. "These are the things you've been wanting me to tell you, and I'm ready to do that now."

"I'm glad to hear it."

Setsuna and the three pilots shifted to see Duo in the doorway to the hangar, leaning against the frame, arms crossed. His expression was closed. Hiiro guessed that he'd been standing there long enough to here Setsuna's admission of knowledge. Behind him stood a pale-faced, red-eyed Quatre.

"Are you doing well?" Setsuna asked, looking at the blonde.

"I haven't slept much lately." His voice was quiet, pained, and he swallowed as his eyes fluttered to the floor.

"He has nightmares." Trowa glared at the woman.

"Should I tell my story?" Setsuna straightened under their glares, apparently feeling the weight of their current dislike.

"By all means." Duo sauntered further into the hangar, Quatre following in short, almost nervous steps. The braided one plopped down onto the floor, and the other four pilots quickly followed suit. The scene looked like Auntie Setsuna's Story Time. Hiiro watched as she lowered her eyes to them, the sorrow in them gaining a greater hold on her. This was an older regret, a deeper sadness than the one that sat staring at nothing. The story she was about to tell . . . Hiiro knew somehow that it was something that occupied the very core of her being.

After a silence that filled the empty air, Setsuna opened her mouth and began to speak . . .

* * *

_There is much about Usagi-chan that cannot be learned by spending time with her. So much of who she is . . . it's hidden away in some secret part of her soul that even she has forgotten about. But it's there. You may have caught a glimpse of it at one time or another. That stance of sovereign grace, or the expression of royal calm that signifies someone of regal blood. Yes, she is royalty. But even that is not the most extraordinary thing about her._

_The story, her story, really begins about five millennia ago. That was the time of complete peace in the solar system. Yes, there were people who lived on the other planets then. Each planet had a ruling family, but all belonged to the greater kingdom known as the Silver Millennium, which had its base on the Moon of Earth. There was the Moon Kingdom, lead by the kindness and compassion of the high queen, Serenity. _

_Serenity had a daughter, the princess of the Silver Millennium, also named Serenity in the tradition of the Lunar royalty. The princess grew into a beautiful and strong woman, raised to take over the throne and responsibilities of her mother. _

_At this time, Earth was an almost primitive planet, and the Lunarians were charged with the protection of Earth and its people. They were like guardian angels, looking down on Earth from afar. If you could have seen Queen Serenity, you would have known how people once believed so strongly in angelic beings. She was . . . there are no words to describe her beauty. The pale, moonlight skin, silver hair, and deep blue eyes certainly had something to do with it, but her beauty radiated mostly from her kind heart and gentle soul. But I'm getting too sentimental. _

_The Princess Serenity had the blood of the Lunarian protectors running through her veins, but it was not enough for her to simply watch from her safe place on the Moon. She wanted to be amongst the people of Earth and share their joys and heartaches. So she would often sneak away from the Moon Palace and her court of guardians would have to go to Earth to find her. You see, the Earthians were not supposed to know about their protectors residing in the heavens. Each time she went down to the planet, Serenity risked compromising the secrecy of the Silver Millennium._

_It was on one of these forbidden excursions that the princess met and fell in love with a young man named Endymion. The story behind how they each found out each other's true identities and how Earth was made an official part of the Silver Millennium is far too long to tell here. It all comes down to the fact that Endymion was actually the prince of Earth, and Queen Serenity was too kind to forbid her daughter to marry a man who not only carried the proper status to court a princess, but whom she loved. I can tell you that even then Queen Serenity thought the match a doomed one, even if it were destined. She confided in me her visions of a coming tragedy, in which Serenity and Endymion would play a central part. Even I, who should have seen it, did not believe her. But I was young then, and didn't have the experience to know when to look ahead. _

_What we couldn't know then was even at that moment brewing on Earth. A woman, who perhaps was not completely evil at this time, was approached by an entity known as Metallia and told that she would be given all the power of the Moon Kingdom if she helped to lead a rebellion against the Lunarians. That wasn't very difficult, for there was a ripple of jealousy already spreading through the people of Earth. Lunarians lived much, much longer than Earthians, and the woman, who now called herself Queen Beryl of the Dark Kingdom, used this jealously to incite the usually gentle Earth people into war against the Moon. Beryl had power, given to her from Metallia, and the promise of more to come when the Moon Kingdom fell. _

_But she set her sights not only on power, but on the Prince of Earth as well. I can't tell you whether he was just another rung on her planned ladder to power, or if she truly had some feeling for Endymion. All I know is that she offered to let him rule by her side, and he refused. So she went after Princess Serenity, determined that the prince would be happy with no one else if not with her. Endymion—_

* * *

"He protected Serenity," Quatre interrupted quietly, wide blue eyes still on the floor, "and was killed by Beryl."

"That's right." Setsuna nodded, not surprised at all that this boy from so far in the future of these events knew exactly what had happened on that long ago day. The other four remembered the dream he'd told them about, and were silent.

"Beryl was killed by one of the princess' protectors . . ." Quatre looked up to Setsuna for help.

"Sailorvenus. The leader of Serenity's royal guard and the princess of Venus. She used a sword made out of Imperium Crystal to slay Beryl. Then she and the rest of the guard were killed in battle."

"And Serenity used Endymion's sword to kill herself. Her mother was so sad . . ." He choked on his own voice and squeezed his eyes against the mental memory of his dream: the image of the princess who looked so much like Usagi taking her own life.

"What does any of this have to do with Usagi-san?" Wufei asked coldly, dark eyes trained on the woman who was only now explaining things they all felt should have been said that first day.

"Usagi-chan is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity," Setsuna said, fingering her staff as she thought, "but unlike the reincarnations of other dead rulers, Usagi-chan cannot escape that destiny that was hers when she was born on the Moon all those millennia ago. She still carries within her the blood of the Lunarian protectors, and the Silver Crystal still belongs to her. Its power obeys only the desires in her deepest heart, because she is still the only heir to the Silver Millennium."

"And her great destiny?"

"She is to fight the Enemy, those remnants of evil that still plague Earth in the Time that is now her home. And then, once she has grown as a warrior, she is to take full control of her power and the throne her mother vacated at her death. She will become NeoQueen Serenity of Crystal Tokyo. On Earth. Four millennia in your past."

Silence. Setsuna stared at the five, waiting for the weight of her words to rest fully on their shoulders, waiting for them to comprehend. It was, of course, first Quatre in whom she saw the light of understanding. Surprisingly, it was Duo who understood next.

"She's the Queen, isn't she? The one who had Alpha built in the first place. That's why the Silver Crystal is Alpha's power source. And why she's the only one who can pilot it."

"Yes."

"And the woman," Wufei stood, brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, "The one who said that it was her ancestor who built Alpha? She and Usagi-san acted like long lost friends."

"Mizuno Ami, also known as Sailormercury. In the time of Crystal Tokyo she was known as Queen Mercury. Now she is merely a scientist and a doctor, who serves the descendents of her former queen generation after generation. And yes, it was actually she who built Alpha. NeoQueen Serenity and her court are immortal."

"Are?" Duo asked in a breathless whisper, "You mean . . . somewhere there exists an older version of Usagi-chan . . . still alive after four thousand years?"

Setsuna nodded. She didn't think it necessary to tell them of the current plight of Serenity, or the fact that the former Queen may or may not exist in only a few short hours. Their minds were burdened enough with the knowledge of who Usagi truly was.

"Did you bring her here because of her power?" Hiiro's arms were crossed, and he didn't look up, Did you bring her here to use the Crystal to help us?"

"No. You must win this battle on your own. But you must do it together. Only together do the five of you have any chance at all to defeat OZ."

"Together and only together . . ." murmured Duo, his eyes burning into the steel walls of the hangar.

"Exactly," Setsuna smiled to herself, knowing where he had gotten those words. "I'm sure that you all have noticed the inherent ability Usagi-chan has to becomes friends with the most unlikely of people. Her talent does not end there. She takes those people and somehow binds together their hearts and souls. She has done that with the five of you; she has made you the strongest five fighters in the cosmos, because you will fight together from this day forward. The friendship between you five is special, because it has been formed, touched, and blessed by Serenity, the princess and goddess of the Moon."

"You're wrong," Quatre sobbed, and Setsuna blinked, "You're wrong!"

_I'm wrong? I can't be wrong . . . I see the friendship in them! I'm not wrong! Usagi-chan did make them stronger!_

"You're wrong because you keep saying the friendship is between the five of us!" The Guardian watched as Trowa steadied the shaking blonde boy, who trembled like a leaf ready to be blown away by the slightest of winds, "But you're WRONG! There aren't five of us in this bond, there are SIX! Usagi-san is as much a part of this friendship as any of us, don't you see that? She doesn't just bind people together and then leave them to fend for themselves! She binds herself to them as well!"

"Quatre's right," Duo sighed, indigo eyes glaring at her, and she saw in them the first hintings of something she had not foreseen.

Hell, she hadn't foreseen this complication at all.

"But . . ." she began, aware of how feeble the word sounded.

"You were trying to save us," Duo continued, "and we appreciate that, we really do. We're all trained to die for our mission, but none of us really want that. Only an idiot would choose to die." His gaze hardened more as the next words poured forth, "But apparently even you didn't completely understand the consequences of the actions you took to ensure our safety."

_What?!? This . . . this can't be coming from Duo . . . not Duo . . . I DID understand! Didn't I?_

"She was pure!" Quatre screamed, doubling over with his emotional pain, Trowa doing his best to hold him upright, "She's tainted because you brought her here, you introduced her to OUR war, the kind where you can't fight without spilling human blood! Now she's alive, but she might as well be dead for all she sees or hears or knows! And if she ever wakes up, then you're going to rip her away from us! I know you are; that's what you planned from the beginning, isn't it? Bring her here, let her do her job, then take her back, isn't that it?"

Setsuna stepped backwards. This couldn't be true, these pained words from a boy who knew nothing about Time, or its concepts, or its consequences. He didn't know anything about the true power of the Crystal, or of the Moon. But . . . his words _were_ true.

"She's our FRIEND, Setsuna! You brought her here to help us, to connect us . . . but did you really believe that you could do that and just take her back without upsetting the bond that you helped create? DID YOU?!?"

"I . . . Quatre . . . I never . . ." Setsuna stumbled, lost her grasp on the Time Staff and fell to the ground, wide-eyed. She finally realized exactly what she had done. How could she not have seen this? The little blonde spoke his heart, and it was all utterly true. Usagi would never again be content to go home, because she would be able to know nothing about the fates of the Gundam pilots. Her friends.

_How could I not have seen this?_

Usagi would return to the past because she must, but a part of her heart would forever belong in After Colony 195, split between five young, rash, and brave boys. Could that possibly be why NeoQueen Serenity had been more of a militaristic ruler than anyone thought? Because of their influence? Was there once a Timeline, now forgotten, when Crystal Tokyo had been ruled entirely through peace?

_We will never know now . . . _

She looked up to see the five pilots standing above her. In that moment they truly were as one, because they all had the same expression of disgust and anger on their faces, even kind Quatre. Perhaps he was even the most appalled at her actions, for he was the one having to go through Usagi's pain with her. He was the only one, besides the Queen, who knew exactly what had happened in those seconds after Usagi pressed the control for Alpha's buster rifle. He alone knew the exact damage Setsuna's miscalculation had and would cause.

"Maybe you should go." Trowa offered, his voice gentle although even he seemed to look on her with less respect than before. "We'll take care of Usagi-san until she revives."

The others nodded, and Setsuna realized that she had effectively been taken out of control. Words seemed inappropriate, and what could she say anyway, so she rose without speaking and retrieved her Time Staff. With that in hand, she concentrated on the Gate and took herself away from AC 195.

* * *

"Will she ever revive?" Wufei turned to Quatre, whose head was bent low between his shaking shoulders. The other four waited patiently for the boy to regain control of himself. At last, with some help from Trowa's comforting embrace, Quatre looked up at them with red-trimmed eyes.

"I don't know . . . I really don't know. I don't feel anything from her at all. It's as if she has no soul anymore."

"Then we may end up taking care of her for the rest of her life." Hiiro stated, quite matter-of-factly.

"Yes."

"If that happens, what will happen to the kingdom she's supposed to rule in her future?" Duo asked seriously, looking from each pilot to another, "It's in our past . . . how will that change the world as we know it?"

He looked over at Alpha as it rested peacefully amid the other Gundams, giving no indication of the havoc it had caused. No one else said a thing. He knew that they were thinking over his words, wondering, as he did, whether the world were already changing because of Usagi's condition, or if this was simply another stop on her road to destiny. How much would existence change if Usagi never ascended to her throne as NeoQueen Serenity? Could she have been that important to the past? And if she never did revive, could they truly care for her for the rest of her long life?

_I guess we're going to find out . . . _

End Chapter Sixteen.


	18. Chapter 17

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing – Chapter Seventeen**

From the third story terrace of Sanch Palace, Hiiro watched as Duo lead the catatonic Usagi around, showing her flowers and insects in the garden. The braided one even plucked a red rose from a bush and, after carefully picking off the thorns, threaded it through Usagi's golden hair just above her ear. A red rose . . . for love. Hiiro thought it quite ironic and telling that Duo had chosen that particular color when the gardens of Sanch Palace overflowed with roses of all hues. He also thought it pitiable that she didn't seem to notice at all, as she didn't notice so much now. It wasn't as if she had noticed Duo before, however. All of them, at some point, had seen how the braided one poured his every whim and wish towards the golden goddess. But she never noticed. Not because she was cold, oh certainly not. Simply because she was both too naïve to think that her dear friend could ever feel more than friendship for her, and because she was too much in love with someone from her own time. Endymion's reincarnation, Hiiro assumed.

As Hiiro continued to watch the pair, a strange pattern began to emerge in their actions. A parallel evolved from Duo's patient attention and Usagi's indifference to his every word and action. He saw in the silent girl a vision of himself, and Relena in Duo.

_That's how I treat her, isn't it? Like something not important . . . like I can't even hear her. _

"Hiiro? What are you thinking about?"

Perhaps he should have been surprised at the suddenness of the soft voice, or the incredible timing the girl had. He wasn't, of course. Nothing ever surprised him.

Except for her smile.

When he turned, Relena was sharing with him one of her small smiles, the type that was weighted down with the burden she carried as a fifteen year old princess but still managed to reveal her kindness. This always succeeded somehow in stupefying the Wing pilot. She knew so much pain, and was still so innocent. She had the fate of a kingdom on her shoulders, along with the lives of its people. Yet still she found the strength to smile. At him. Of all people in the world she could smile at, she chose him. And that was what surprised him most.

"Hiiro?"

She tilted her head to the side, waiting for his answer, or at least a characteristic 'Hn.'

"I'm thinking about Duo and Usagi-san."

Relena blinked. He could see the shock in her gaze, the astonishment that he had actually answered her in a complete sentence, and not only that, but had actually told her what was on his mind.

"What about them?" she asked quietly, moving over to the window beside him, to look down on what he saw. He was silent, allowing her to watch the two for a moment, wondering if the parallel, the irony would be as apparent to her as it was to him. He gazed at her, seeing the blue of her eyes soften. Now he knew why they radiated so much kindness; Quatre's original theory must be correct. Relena was Usagi's descendant . . . she had the golden girl's eyes. "It's sad isn't it?"

"Hn?" The sound slipped from his throat before he even realized it. A habit, he supposed.

"He loves her so much, but she can't see or hear him."

"She wouldn't love him anyway. She's got someone in the past."

"Then the happy ending is only for her. Duo will be left here, alone. Wishing things could have been different." He heard the note of some emotion enter the girl's voice. Although he couldn't place it, he realized that it must mean she saw what he had.

"Relena . . ."

She sighed and smiled, turned her eyes up to him, and waited. But the weight of those clear blue eyes grabbed his words and pulled them back down into his throat. He felt his mouth moving, aware that no sound was emerging. Then she chuckled lowly, almost under her breath.

"Speechless, Hiiro?" Relena lighted up on her toes and placed a gentle, chaste kiss on his cheek before turning away, "Don't worry about it. I'm used to it."

She was going to walk away. She was going to leave him here and there would be the chance that something could happen between now and the future. Something that would create a situation worse than Duo's with Usagi. At least Duo could hope that Usagi might be able to hear him, or might wake up one day. Then he would be able to tell her how he truly felt. Hiiro knew that he could be killed at any moment if she left him now, and then the chance would never come.

"Relena!"

His slender legs carried him swiftly over to her, where the girl was just beginning to turn back to him. He didn't wait for her to question him, or even to complete her movement. Hiiro grabbed her by the arm and pulled her close, planting his lips on hers in what he knew was a clumsy kiss. He'd never kissed anyone before . . . he'd always had the mission and never had he met anyone like Relena Darlian/ Peacecraft, who could smile even if OZ were knocking at her peaceful door. Those smiling lips were soft beneath his, and gave way, even if she must have been completely shocked.

Hiiro pulled away, a carefully calculated motion, designed to allow him to keep his exterior of apathy intact. He watched Relena as she watched him, confusion in her blue eyes. He knew she couldn't quite figure out what had just happened. He'd forgotten why he kissed her. Wait . . . to show her what he couldn't say. Yes, that's right. To show her what was going on inside of him that he couldn't put into words because he didn't have the programming. Did she understand? She had to. It was so blatant, so obvious, and coming from him it should have been a glaring neon sign over his head with a blinking arrow and the words 'IN LOVE WITH RELENA' emblazoned in the air.

But was it?

"I have a meeting," the girl finally said, voice quiet and calm, "I'll see you later, Hiiro." But there was a distinct smile on her face, brighter than her usual sad one.

Hiiro followed her as she left, followed her with his indifferent gaze. When she was around the corner and out of sight, the Wing pilot gave a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall, head back, eyes now staring at the ceiling. And then, in what had to be the miracle of all miracles . . . a slow smile spread over his tight mask of a face.

* * *

_The castle in ruins . . . Endymion dying . . . the soldiers falling . . . Beryl laughing . . . _

_A new life, a new mother . . . the cat . . . the brooch . . . fighting, always fighting . . . Beryl again . . . _

_The four sisters . . . the Black Moon mark . . . the white prince . . . Death Phantom!_

_Dream mirrors? A tiger . . . a hawk . . . a fish . . . the four Amazons . . . the Pegasus . . ._

_ChibiChibi . . . Starlights . . . Princess Kakyuu . . . the soldiers fallen again . . . no . . . no . . ._

_GALAXIA!_

* * *

Quatre screamed, twisting, unable to free his arms or legs from the strong thing that bound him together. He rolled and there was a world- jarring THUD that knocked the breath from him. Wrapped up in a darkness that refused to let him see, Quatre sobbed quietly, partially from the unknown darkness, partially from the fuzzy remnants of his dream.

"Quatre," came Trowa's calm voice from somewhere in the pitch black, "calm down, let me get those sheets." The blonde obeyed, relaxing as well as he could and in a few moments the darkness was seared by a pale shaft of moonlight and the image of Trowa's face. Quatre launched himself from the cocoon of twisted sheets and blankets into the taller boy's arms. Tears trekked resignedly down his face like soldiers marching off to war. "What was it, a bad dream?"

Quatre nodded, his arms tightening about Trowa's neck.

"It's okay now. You're awake."

Oddly enough, the silent boy's short and simple statement was more comforting than a long, heartfelt speech could have been. It took only moments after that for Quatre to calm himself enough to detangle his arms from Trowa and back away.

"I think it was more than a dream," he said finally, "I think . . . I think I saw Usagi-san's past. The entire thing."

"And?" Trowa was gazing at him, showing nothing, but even in the dim moonlight Quatre could see the faintest touch of interest gleaming in the one visible green eye. All he could do in answer, however, was shudder. "That bad?"

"First she died on the Moon . . . then she was reborn and her life was peaceful for a while. When she turned fourteen though . . . after that point I saw nothing but constant, endless fighting. And death."

"She's sixteen now. Two years of fighting? That's nothing. We've been fighting our entire lives."

"_You_ have. Hiiro has, and so has Duo from what he's told us. But Wufei and I haven't. We started fighting because we wanted to save the colonies, and the Earthsphere. He and I have been fighting less than a year. And already I understand what a terrible thing it is. But even we aren't normal. All of us are different in some way than all of those people who live blissfully without really understanding the danger they are in. You, Duo, and Hiiro were orphans. Wufei a young widower. I am the only heir to the richest family in the colonies." Quatre paused in his rant, looking to Trowa, who said nothing. So the blonde continued, "Imagine that you're a normal teenager. All you have to do in life is go to school, talk to friends, and think about future romance. You like this life, you're happy with it. Then suddenly from no where you're told that you're destined to fight in a great war against evil, and your life is never the same. From that day forward you aren't normal anymore; you're far from it. You have powers, you have a secret love, and you have a court of protectors. In the daytime you go about your business acting like everything is just fine when it isn't, because at night you have to risk your life for the sake of people who will never meet you and never thank you. And all you want, your only wish in this life, is for things to go back to the way they were. All you want is to be normal again. But you can't have that, because then you find out that your destiny isn't over yet. You'll grow up to take over a kingdom and not only that . . . you'll be immortal. You will be fighting and ruling and protecting for the rest of eternity. _That_ is the reality of what Usagi-san lives with every day! It is so much more than what we live with, because we will die one day. We will be able to rest. She won't."

As the last of the words fell from his lips, Quatre looked up to see the shadow of understanding on his companion's already hidden face. Trowa could never fully comprehend what it was Quatre spoke of, because he could not feel it as the blonde could. But he could understand the idea of fighting for eternity . . . and not like it.

"Then I can understand," began the tall one, "why Usagi-san hasn't woken up yet. She doesn't want to."

* * *

_I have to make them understand. I have to make them see that even though what I did may have unforeseen consequences . . . it was right. It was right because now they will live, and so will Relena._

Setsuna paced the Realm Between Times nervously. Her Staff propped against the Gate, waiting for her to pick it up once more, waiting to be used. Her hands shook as they had ever since her hasty and beaten retreat from AC 195. Only now it wasn't entirely because the pilots had rejected her.

The entity, the darkness . . . it shrouded over everything in her Realm now. She felt its consciousness flooding through the mists, attacking the Gate with its silent onslaught, unable to break the mystical guards on those white doors. For now. But even the Gate of Time couldn't stand against this assault forever. Eventually it would fall and all of Time would be at the entities mercy. Setsuna was determined that this would not happen. The Senshi would fight this evil and win.

But she had to return Usagi to her own Time first. Only then could she take any of the Senshi anywhere, because the risks of having two Usagi's misplaced in Time were just too great. But Usagi could not go home in her current state. She would never make it through the Warp.

_Serenity-sama, give me strength,_ prayed the Time Senshi to her long dead queen.

Nothing about Time had changed as far as Setsuna could tell, which could be a sign that the entity would be defeated and never make any changes. Or it could mean simply that it had not broken through the Gate yet and brought attention to itself. There was always the risk that once it did break through, they would not be able to find it.

_I can't let that happen. Usagi-chan, please wake up soon! You have another duty, you have another battle to fight! And this one could affect the entire stream of Time! _

But first, the pilots. A fight against the darkness could not begin until the pilots were proven safe, and Usagi revived. And Setsuna knew that she had to talk to them, to regain their trust. She _had_ to talk to them. But only one at a time . . . that way she could win them back slowly, and have the ones already won behind her when she approached the others.

Who first, then? Who to contact first? Quatre? Certainly he would be the most understanding of the five. Then the image of the blonde's bloodshot eyes and disgusted expression invaded her mind and she shook her head. Duo, then. Duo never could keep a grudge . . . but he loved Usagi, and he was the one who saw her day in and day out because he was her keeper. That fueled his anger on. Trowa? No, too close to Quatre. Wufei? Too hard-headed. Hiiro?

Setsuna stopped to go back and consider. Hiiro would probably be the best option, for he was calm and objective at all times. He would be the most likely to listen to her with his mind completely open. But Wufei . . . who better to help stop the tragedies of the future than the one who would set them in motion? Surely if she told him . . . then he would understand.

Yes. Wufei, then.

* * *

Wufei's mind registered the presence of another person before he even heard the boots clicking over the hard floor of the hangar. Boots . . . then it would be Noin, one of the defected OZ soldiers, or . . .

"Wufei."

Setsuna.

"I'm busy, Onna." He didn't look at her, just kept working on Altron, and hoping that by his words and his lack of interest she would get the point and go away. She really had some nerve to even come back at all. He thought they'd made it perfectly clear that she was not welcome here or anywhere near Usagi.

"I need to speak with you. It's important."

"We've said all that needed to be said when we told you to leave."

"No, Wufei. I want to explain to you why I've done this thing. I'm hoping that I can make you understand."

"We understand." Wufei stood straight and turned to the woman, tossing his wrench aside carelessly. "You wanted to save our miserable lives, lives that we've willingly offered up as sacrifices for a greater good. So you instead destroyed the life of an innocent girl, one whose destruction might actually cause us more harm than good. Congratulations."

He watched her clutch her staff tightly. She was angry, he could tell. But there was more than anger beneath that calm and controlled exterior. What that other emotion was he couldn't tell; Setsuna was too adept at hiding her feelings. Too much like that damned Yui.

"I wanted to tell you what that future will be like, the one I'm trying to prevent." Her words came out slowly, constrained within the confines of her tight lips.

"It is a little late now, don't you think? Shouldn't you have told us this a long time ago?" Wufei shook his head to show her just how disgusted he was and began to turn away.

"You will kill them!"

He paused, noting both the ridiculousness of the words and the desperation with which they were said. That was it, the thing that lurked beneath Setsuna's eyes and oozed from her pores: desperation. Wufei allowed himself to look back towards her. Her mouth was set thinly, lips pressing together. The staff might break at any moment, she was squeezing so tightly. But her eyes called out to him in that way that words can't, pleaded with him to stop and to listen.

"Quatre, Duo, and Trowa," she said when he did not move again, "you will kill them. You will beat Quatre to the point of death, then try to make it look like a suicide. You won't be so kind to Duo; he will receive four bullets. One to the chest, three to the face. Trowa you will gut and then hang from a tree like a trophy. Then, you will slit your own throat. That was the future I saw, the one I am trying to prevent."

"You're either lying or were hallucinating, Onna," Wufei growled, a great upwelling of indignation and anger growing inside his chest, "I would never do anything so dishonorable as kill my friends. And certainly not in such dishonorable manners."

"You will. Or you would have, if I hadn't brought Usagi-chan here to bind you to them."

"Get out."

"WUFEI!"

In a moment he saw her motion as she brought the butt of her Time Staff clanking to the ground. He vaguely heard the resounding tap echo through the hangar, and then all was whiteness.

* * *

Gradually the whiteness faded, and Wufei found himself in his own body but somewhere far away from the Gundam hangar at Sanch Palace. There were the sounds of waves . . . the smell of salt . . . wind buffeting at his sides . . . and before him kneeled a bruised and beaten Quatre._Quatre, what happened to you?_ The words never left his lips. He couldn't control his own body! What was going on??

Was this a vision? Was this what Setsuna was telling him about? If it was . . . then Quatre . . .

He screamed in his mind as his foot came in contact with Quatre's face. _NOOOOOOO! No, this is wrong. This is not the honorable thing! Yui's death does not make this thing right! _He tried to stop his body as he landed another punch in the gut of his former friend, who doubled over on his knees. Clear crystal aqua eyes stared at him, bewildered, silently asking why. Wufei heard his voice, harsher now. "Because you are weak." _Weak?_His mind screamed again. _Quatre is not weak. He is perhaps the strongest of all of us. How could I say or do such a thing? How? _But somewhere in the mind that was his, yet not his, Wufei found the real reason, the one this warped version of himself had not told Quatre.

He felt his body stoop to lift the battered boy from the ground, holding him close, almost like a lover. A wave of relief passed over the observer Wufei. _Good... I've come to my senses. Now we'll get him some help... no. Stop. Wait. No!! What are you doing? Why are we walking to the cliff? He'll die! Listen to me, there is no honor in murder! No stop! Don't let go. QUATRE! Hold on to my hand. Why am I prying your fingers from mine? What am I doing? Gods why won't it stop? _Wufei could only watch in horror as his friend's body tumbled down the rocky cliff, bouncing like a ragdoll at the bottom. He felt the sadistic smile spread across his face as he turned to go.

A brilliant flash of more whiteness and he was standing now before Duo._MAXWELL! Good, it's you. Surely you can help. You can go help Quatre... it may not be too late. Please. Stop me. I can't make my hand stop._The thoughts continued, growing in magnitude as Wufei noticed that he held a gun. "I told you I would kill you. Don't act as if you thought I wouldn't." _What?!?_ He squeezed the trigger without hesitation, no remorse. _No! No! I did not mean it! I'm sorry, Maxwell. Please forgive me. _He heard the gun fire again, felt it recoil in his hands, the cool metal growing hotter with each shot. He flinched as he saw Duo's head explode before him, the brain matter spattering over his clean clothes. Wufei felt his lips curl into a smile. "Two down. Two to go." _NO! Trowa. Not Trowa. Please. Wasn't it enough that Quatre and Maxwell had to die? Where is the justice in this? Wait . . . two? Who . . . no . . . _

The whiteness again and he knelt on the ground beneath the body of his quiet friend. The bloody, gutted body dangled from a rope, swaying back and forth like a windsock in the breeze. Wufei felt rage boil over in him at last. He'd murdered three of his friends. This was not possible. This was the act of a coward. Words resounded in his mind, words that his future self allowed to repeat over and over: _As Gundam pilots we represent a risk to the Earth and the colonies. I cannot allow that risk to exist._ This was the reason. He thought he was doing it for peace . . . for the Earth . . . for the colonies . . .

_This was not the way to preserve the peace! _

None of his friends had deserved to die this way. And he certainly did not deserve an honorable death, as his future self was planning. He felt the sword touch his chest briefly and he shook his head, surprised when he felt the muscles move at his bidding. No. He would not have an honorable death. He did not deserve it. He moved his hand, positioning the sword at his throat. He would atone for his actions, by dying the cowards death. He brought the blade swiftly across his throat, watching in mute fascination as the crimson blood dripped down his blade. _At least I can make it right in some small measure. Forgive me, Quatre. I'm sorry Trowa. Duo... I beg you... do not hate me. Meiran... where is my honor now? _He felt his body hit the ground with a distinct thud and he smiled, letting his world fade to blissful black.

* * *

A hand gripped Quatre's shoulder, holding him back from helping Wufei. The blonde glanced over his shoulder and saw a serious-faced Duo with a finger over his mouth, signaling for silence. Behind the braided one stood Hiiro and Trowa, both of whom seemed ready to let their comrade's torture continue for the sake of knowledge. Quatre did not fight; he knew Wufei would do the same in their situation, and would expect them to use this opportunity to glean as much information as possible.

Returning his eyes to the hangar floor, he saw Wufei finally take his hands from his head and look up at Setsuna.

"W-What . . . that was the future?"

"The one without Usagi-chan's intervention, yes."

Wufei was silent a moment. He stared down at his hands as if at the most disgusting thing of his nightmares. He still sat on his knees; he'd been that way since Quatre had arrived, knowing something was happening.

"What caused . . . what could cause me to lose my honor like that?"

"It is unimportant now, Wufei—"

"It IS important!" Wufei pushed himself to his feet with a determined vehemence, his shouted words pummeling Quatre's ears. "I cannot imagine the thing that could cause me to kill my friends in cold blood. If there is still the slightest chance for this thing to occur, I need to know."

_Kill his friends?_

"I remember . . ." Wufei continued without waiting for Setsuna to answer, no doubt because he thought she wouldn't, "something . . . while I was in my future self's mind I knew the reason . . . I can barely remember now . . . it was . . ." The Chinese boy sucked in a breath and passed his dark eyes up to the woman's face, "Hiiro. He died."

Three of the four pairs of eyes hiding in the shadows turned to face the fourth. Hiiro stood, arms crossed, looking unsurprised and completely unaffected.

"Yes. In that timeline Hiiro was killed in a battle against the White Fang."

"White Fang?"

"You will know the name soon enough."

It took all of Quatre's inner strength not to run to Wufei when he saw the boy lean backwards against Altron, weak, needing the support. Duo's hand, still on his shoulder, reminded him of his duty to the Gundam pilots.

"Why? Why did you go through all of this trouble for us? We can't be so important to the Timeline that you would risk Usagi-san's sanity for us."

"There are two reasons." Setsuna sighed and the four hiding pilots waited in breathless expectation for those reasons. "The first I cannot say much about, for it is still an important part of your future. The five of you will play a vital role in an upcoming war, one after the current war."

Wufei nodded, accepting this.

"And the second?"

"Relena Peacecraft is indispensable in the future. She is the main advocate for peace on the Earthsphere and the colonies. In the Timeline you just witnessed, Relena committed suicide."

This time when Quatre looked to Hiiro the boy still showed nothing on the outside, save for paling by several shades. But within him roiled a profound pain from the knowledge that in some existence somewhere his Relena died early by her own hand.

"And you say that this future is prevented now?"

"Perhaps."

"What?!?" Wufei took a wobbling step towards her, a growl settling into his throat, "Perhaps?!? After everything you've put us and Usagi-san through?!?"

"It all depends on Hiiro. In the previous Timeline, he went into that battle never intending to come back alive, and that is why he didn't. He had no one he cared enough to live for. He didn't know friendship and he didn't know love. Now, after knowing Usagi-chan, we can hope that he chooses differently this Time."

When Quatre turned one last time, Hiiro was gone.

End Chapter Seventeen.


	19. Chapter 18

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing – Chapter Eighteen**

Hiiro paced the hallway just outside of Relena's door. He wanted to barge right through and extract a promise from her to never, ever, EVER take her own life for any reason whatsoever. He wanted to give her a promise in return that he would always return to her, that his life would not end early on a battlefield. But he could do neither. He could not promise that he would not die, or that he would not go out to fight with the intention of dying. Should the mission require his life as a sacrifice to succeed he could not refuse. He couldn't . . . not even for the girl of the crystal clear eyes and shining smile.

But how could he tell her this?

_Relena, in another Timeline I died and you killed yourself . . . please don't do that this time around, okay?_

He doubted that would make much sense.

"Damn." The word shot from his mouth, a forced curse. And he had to admit, it felt good. Now he knew why Duo said it so much. That and other choice words.

He pulled in a breath, deep and determined, and turned to the door. He couldn't tell her exactly what was going on in his mind, but he couldn't just let her go without saying anything. Yes, so he would have to say something then. Exactly what, he would figure out when he saw her. Hiiro lifted his hand, fingers curled into a knocking fist.

The wood yielded before his fist without so much as feeling the first beat.

"Hiiro!" Relena blinked, hand still on the doorknob. Hiiro released his fingers from their tight ball and opened his mouth to speak.

"Relena, I—"

"Can this wait? White Fang is making an announcement and I have to catch as much of it as I can."

"White Fang?"

_Yes. In that timeline Hiiro was killed in a battle against the White Fang._

"Yes," Relena continued as she closed her door and proceeded down the hallway, Hiiro close behind, "White Fang claims that they represent the colonies desire to be free from Earthsphere control. I just received a call from Noin saying that the White Fang's new leader is about to make an announcement and I should see it. She won't tell me why."

Hiiro nodded, all the while his thoughts going back to Setsuna and Wufei, to the madness that the Guardian put Wufei through, all because of him. And Relena. Why should two people be so important? Hiiro understood battle tactics and strategies, and the concept of sending one person to die for the sake of a thousand or more. But he couldn't understand how one single individual, or even two, could be worth sacrificing the lives of millions. And the situation in which he would soon have to face this reality was soon to be at hand, he knew, because now the White Fang had come into play.

But why should a simple colony rebel group be so important?

"Noin," Relena called as she walked into the conference room, where Noin and several other Sanch officials stood staring up at the wide screen, "Noin, what is—"

Stepping up behind the princess, Hiiro saw immediately the significance of White Fang.

From the monitor on the wall, the face of Milliardo Peacecraft peered down at them.

**"—declare war on the Earthsphere and give one day for surrender or we shall show our true power."**

"W-What?" Relena turned to Noin, asking for answers, "What is going ON? When did Milliardo become associated with the White Fang?"

"We aren't quite sure, Miss Relena," Noin's voice wavered, whether with anxiety or anger, Hiiro couldn't tell. "This is the first we've heard of it. But he isn't just associated with it. He's _leading_ it."

"It's not possible—"

"He's got to have some reason—"

"You're both being naïve."

Hiiro was careful to keep his gaze to the floor, but knew that both females turned to him. It was always this way. People looked at him, and he looked at the ground.

"Obviously something has happened to the man we know as Milliardo Peacecraft. He has joined with the White Fang against the Earthsphere, against the peace that you are trying to create. It is possible, you are seeing the proof of it before you. There probably is some reason, but I doubt that it is anything as altruistic as you likely have in mind, Noin. No matter how much faith you have in him, he will do something that brings his own death, as well as millions of others."

Without looking up at them, Hiiro turned to leave, but Relena's voice made him pause.

"Where are you going?"

"To get the others. We need to stop him."

* * *

Assembled in Usagi's room, the five pilots sat waiting for Orders, information, or whatever it was Relena wanted to tell them. Duo spoke in an undertone to the catatonic girl, telling her what was going on. Quatre and Trowa sat beside him on the rarely used bed, the blonde wrapped comfortably within the arms of his taller companion. Hiiro and Wufei occupied the two single chairs in the room, and Relena stood in the door, observing this scene. These were five of the most pure-hearted people she had ever known, and she was about to order them out to battle.

"White Fang has declared war on the Earthsphere, and my brother, Milliardo is leading them."

Hiiro did not look up, Wufei paled, and Trowa and Quatre exchanged looks. Duo clutched Usagi's limp, pale hand in his own. They all recognized the name, apparently.

"So what do you want us to do about it?" Duo asked in his wavery voice.

Such an innocent question, but she knew it hadn't been asked from an innocent mind. Behind that face that still held some childish chubbiness, behind the laughing indigo eyes, lurked the mind of a trained terrorist, a more than competent killer. Such was the way with them all. And what she wanted of them was only what everyone always wanted of them. She caught a sob in her throat to stop it. She, like everyone they'd ever known, wanted only to exploit them.

"I want you to go stop him. Hiiro has already agreed. It was his idea, mostly."

"No," Wufei looked up, startling Relena with his sudden, passionate vehemence, "We will not go into space. Not right now. If we do, Hiiro will not go." The other three nodded fiercely. What was happening here?

"This is an order." That caught their attention. Quatre's eyes widened and even Hiiro broke his intense gaze with the floor to look up at her. "Milliardo is not only my brother, he is a child of the Peacecraft family. As Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Sanch Kingdom, I order the five of you to go into space and stop my brother. At all costs."

Wufei spat something in Chinese and shot up from his chair, lines of fury on his golden face. Quatre instantly burst into tears, falling deeper into Trowa's embrace. Duo cursed profusely in English. Hiiro stared at her with his indifferent Prussian eyes. But somewhere within their depths swam something else, something she couldn't place. What was she missing? There was something they weren't telling her.

"What—"

"We'll go."

"Hiiro, no!" Quatre pushed away from Trowa and stood, hands clenched together at the base of his throat, "You know what Setsuna said!"

"We have a mission. We've been given an order, and we have to carry it out. You know that, Quatre." Hiiro gave a glance between the four of his fellow pilots, "You all know that."

"Hiiro," Duo growled, standing, "if you go to space, you'll make _this_," he gestured to the mute girl staring out of the window, "all for nothing."

Relena couldn't keep her eyes from falling to Usagi. All of the talking and arguing around her dissolved as she took in the slack face, dull eyes, and limp form. How sad it was that such a vivacious girl should be forced to hide within her mind. An image tried to form in her mind of what could have created this utterly lifeless version of the cheerful girl she'd known. The vision wouldn't come.

"Show me what caused this," she said suddenly, surprising herself with her unexpected urge to understand exactly what had happened. "Show me what did this to Usagi-chan."

"Relena—"

"No, Hiiro. Don't try to protect me. If I am going to lead a pacifist nation, I need to have seen the weapons of destruction. And whatever did this to Usagi-can is certainly a weapon of destruction."

She set her jaw into her best determined princess expression and watched as the five once more exchanged looks, silent sighs hidden behind them. She clenched her hands into tights fists, awaiting their decision. The only sound in the room was Usagi's mindless silence. Relena worried at Wufei's stern, taunt face and at Quatre's pitiful sniffles. But the other three pondered amongst themselves, switching gazes every so often, until at last Trowa spoke.

"Alright. We'll take you to Alpha."

* * *

Monumental as always, Alpha observed its visitors with the cold objectivity of a machine. Eyes dimmed from under use, still the suit radiated power from every joint, every wire, and every surface. Despite its feminine shape and its pink color, Alpha commanded respect and even fear. Watching Relena as she stared over the vast expanse of the Gundam, Hiiro wondered if this aura of energy was due to the little Crystal nestled within the left leg.

"This is the power source?" Relena asked quietly, pointing to the Crystal.

"Yes."

"Why haven't you taken it out? Shouldn't you want to cut this . . . this _thing_ off from its power?" She turned and gave him the most terrible of gazes, wide-eyed and horrified that they had allowed Alpha to retain the thing that granted its life.

"We tried," Duo offered, much to Hiiro's gratitude, "but it's stuck. Apparently only Usagi-chan can remove it."

Terror entered Relena's blue gaze, a terror that Hiiro longed to alleviate.

"It's just going to stay here, fully powered, threatening us with its mere presence?"

"Relena, you're acting like this is a demon or something. It's just a machine." Duo stepped back when the princess whirled on him, panic making her eyes a shade or two lighter than normal.

"It isn't just a machine! There's something evil in it, there has to be, for it to have caused so much horror. Look at Usagi-chan and tell me there isn't evil in this mobile suit!"

Duo swallowed and averted his gaze, unwilling to take her challenge. He'd seen Usagi lifeless for weeks; he didn't need Relena to remind him. None of them did. While the other four were not quite as despairing as Duo, they all missed the Usagi they once knew. They all respected her and now they respected her sacrifice. She must have known the danger she was placing herself and her future in when she left her own time to come to theirs. To save their souls.

"I want this hangar locked the moment you leave. I don't want anyone down here to touch or even SEE Alpha. Not Miss Noin, not any of the OZ defectors, _no one._ Do you understand? All of you?"

Dumbfounded by the pure command and force in the princess' gaze and voice, the five pilots merely nodded. Something about her, about her stance or her eyes or the way she stood taller, reminded Hiiro of Usagi demanding Setsuna return the Silver Crystal.

At their side, motionless in her wheelchair, Usagi gave a small, timid whimper.

"Usagi-chan?" Duo kneeled instantly by her side, indigo eyes leveled expectantly on her face. The others gathered around, save for Relena. Hiiro noticed casually that she stayed back, hands clenched together tightly. "Usagi-chan, what is it? Tell me."

"T-the bodies . . . they litter the ground . . ."

Hiiro saw Duo's arms begin to move away from her in a cringe, but the braided on stopped himself.

"Their souls are . . . aren't going to find peace . . ."

"Usagi-chan, please stop."

"They're damned!"

"Usagi-san," Quatre stepped forward, his eyes focused intensely on the girl. "Usagi-san, listen to me, listen to my voice, let me into your mind—"

"They're DAMNED!" The frail golden girl lifted her arms in a sweeping motion to cover her face, the first movement Hiiro had seen her make on her own since that day. She began to shake her head side to side, in the manner of someone who has suffered sever brain damage might do. "They're damned damned damneddamneddamnedDAMNEDDAMNEDDAMNEDDAMNED!!!" Her voice rose, screeching, searing through his ears and peeling away at the tough skin that covered his heart. Eventually the words vanished within the keening, meaningless wail of a deranged soul. Kami-sama, she sounded so pained, so lost, so full of agony. Over three dead OZ soldiers.

"What's causing this?" Wufei shouted over Usagi's still climbing voice, himself looking just as distraught as Hiiro felt.

"I don't know!" Duo tried to calm her, to pull her arms down and bring her into a hug, but the girl would have none of it. She slapped at his hands each time he tried to embrace her, and clawed at his face when he attempted to focus her gaze on him. The braided one looked close to tears. "Usagi!"

Hiiro passed an almost panicked look about the hangar. Usagi was in pain, his friend, Usagi. It must be something in the hangar, it had to be. She'd been fine before they brought her here,. Or as fine as one could be in a catatonic state. What had caused her to suddenly come to life, and so violently at that? He had to stop her pain, he couldn't listen to it any longer . . .

Alpha! The Silver Crystal!

"It's Alpha!" Hiiro pushed through his four friends and grasped the wheelchair handles in his outstretched fingers. "We shouldn't have brought her in here; her proximity to the suit and the Crystal is making her like this!"

The other four moved as soon as they understood Hiiro's words. While Hiiro veered Usagi's wheelchair around and towards the door, Quatre took Relena by the hand and pulled her with them. The young Sanch princess had a thoughtful look on her face. Hiiro decided he would ask her about it later. For now, all that was important was getting the screaming Usagi far, far away from the thing that caused her agony.

* * *

Duo tucked the once more silent girl into her bed, his heart breaking when he saw the blank stare she gave the ceiling. She lay on her back, hands loosely resting on the covers, waiting to be moved. This girl was so different from the one Setsuna had brought them at the hidden base. That Usagi had a mind, and a strong one at that; she would never let anyone else dictate her every motion. Now she had no choice.

"Usagi . . ." he brushed a stray hair from her cheek and leaned forward to kiss that smooth surface. Then, clumsily, in what little Japanese she'd been able to teach him: "Usagi . . . onegai, wake up. Ai-Aishiteru."

* * *

Relena sighed, untangling fine strands of light brown hair from themselves. Before her full length mirror, nightgown brushing the carpeted floor lightly, the Sanch princess looked into her own reflection. Alpha's quiet, looming presence still caused shudders through her entire being even though she was far from the machine now. Did it effect her so much because . . . because she was Usagi's descendant?

_Usagi is a princess from the past, Relena. She's your ancestor!_

She hadn't quite believed Quatre then. After all, it was quite a claim, and a princess must always look for the logical answer before putting faith in the extraordinary. But after her encounter with the suit . . . her doubts melted away.

She sighed and retrieved the brush from her dresser top and returned to the mirror.

Hiiro stood in the doorway.

Relena smiled. While he had never been to visit her at this time of night, still she was not startled to see him. Hiiro had that way of showing up when least expected, and through that she had learned to anticipate his odd arrivals. Or at least keep from jumping with shock.

"Yes, Hiiro?"

He must have come to discuss the pilots leaving arrangements. They would of course what to depart for space as soon as possible. She would be certain that no one of any consequence neared the Gundam hangar at the right time. Or the wrong time, depending on how one looked at the situation. Thinking over this, Relena ran the brush through her hair and waited for Hiiro to begin explaining his strategy for departure.

A few moments passed before she realized that he still had not spoken. She turned to face him without the mirror, head tilted in puzzled questioning. Hiiro did not look at the floor, but straight at her. She sucked in a breath, unnerved by that gaze, so pure, so unmasked by the downward slope of a head. Then he lowered his arms from their customary place folded at his chest and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.

"H-Hiiro?"

Still silent, the boy crossed the room in a few strong, confident strides, stopping right before her. Relena felt her breath catch in her throat at the strange expression in his eyes as he looked down on her. They stayed that way a while, slim boy looking down at confused girl, her eyes wide and his a storm of things unsaid. Then, at last, he brought a hand to rest gently at her cheek, the smallest of smiles tilting his mouth upwards.

"Hiiro, wha—"

He stopped her question by placing his thumb over her lips. His other hand came to press lightly, possessively into the curve just above her hip. She could feel his fingers through the thin material of her nightgown and felt the bright creep of blush coloring her cheeks. He couldn't be thinking . . . not . . . _Oh my God!_

"Hiiro," she fought to speak through his silent protestation, "I really don't think—"

This time he silenced her by placing his lips on hers, this kiss more assured than the last. The hand at her side pulled at her until she found her body nearly crushed against his. These actions; the kiss, the roughness . . . Relena could almost read his mind beneath them . . .

_Please Relena . . . just this one night . . ._

_I'm leaving tomorrow . . . I may not come back . . ._

_Let me show you what I can't say . . . please, please, please . . . _

Realization flooded through her, the knowledge now of what he really meant, what he wanted, and with that realization came the desire to comfort him. But not as one would comfort a boy.

She stopped fighting and gave in to him, to her feelings, and to the night.

End Chapter Eighteen.


	20. Chapter 19

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing – Chapter Nineteen **

Somehow she knew the bed was empty before she ever opened her eyes. It must have been her understanding of him, his habits, and his mind. He would never have allowed them to awaken in the same bed, not even after sharing a night like the one before. It would have made it all the harder to say goodbye.

She wondered exactly when he'd left. Had he watched her sleep for hours, slipping out of the door at the first pale glimpse of sunlight? Or had he only waited until she was too deep into satisfied sleep to notice his abandonment? It didn't really matter. All that mattered was that he left, and she had known he would. Yet she'd still allowed him the comfort he'd wanted. Silly, perhaps, and quite stupid, of course. Regrettable? No.

Relena rose, wrapping a sheet about herself, and padded across the carpet into her private bath room. She shed the sheet, leaving it on the floor for the servants to clean and wonder about. Stepping into the large, glass surrounded shower stall, the princess turned the knob and released a torrent of fresh, clean water. She let it fall over her face for a moment, feeling it trail over her skin. While it felt delightful, and she certainly could use the cleaning, Relena couldn't help but feel as if she were washing away her last contact with him. As if she should keep the places he'd touched as a shrine in case he didn't return to her.

_Don't think about that. _

A shudder emanated from the knot within her stomach, the one that made her feel sick when she thought about Hiiro not coming back. Clenching her jaw tightly, shutting her eyes, Relena took a deep breath to calm herself. She couldn't become panicky; she couldn't be ill. A princess must overlook sickness and ignore panic. Her country and its peace were more important than her own health.

So was Usagi.

She'd promised Duo she would take care of the silent girl. He'd wrung the promise from her multiple times before finally taking Usagi to her room. It was the only thing that would finally allow him to feel right about leaving the Earthsphere after Milliardo.

Remembering this, Relena sighed and finished her shower quickly, dressing with the precision of royalty. The stiff, starched school uniform could be uncomfortable sometimes, but that and her Sanch diplomatic uniform were the only clothing she really felt comfortable in anymore. Never again could Relena Peacecraft don a normal dress or a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Not even for one day, to pretend that she was Relena Darlian again, her father was alive, and she didn't know she was the only living princess of the Sanch Kingdom. Those days were gone. It was for the best, she supposed. Sanch needed a leader, and if Milliardo refused, who else was there but herself?

She suddenly wished very much that Usagi would awaken. The hopeless wish stung her eyes with tears. Relena blinked them away and rushed out of her door as if the tears followed closely behind. Hopeless wish. Really, it was. Usagi woke for no one, only sank deeper into her own vortex of despair or depression or guilt or whatever it was that kept her silent and her eyes dulled.

Tap, tap, tap; her shoes against the floors. Swish, swish; her skirts against her legs. Why? Her eyes against Usagi's still form.

Standing in the doorway of Usagi's bedroom, Relena watched the girl lay in bed, eyes trained on the ceiling. That must have been how Duo had left her the previous night. The princess couldn't imagine the pain Duo must be feeling. At least Hiiro vaguely responded to her.

She stepped inside to clear the air around her of the lingering presence of Hiiro. He, like the tears of her eyes, followed her always even when he wasn't there.

"Usagi-chan," she knelt beside the bed and gently pulled the blankets back, "I'm going to take you outside today. Only for a little while; I have a meeting later. I always have a meeting later." Relena paused to swallow back her sorrow, "Noin will take you into the nearest village then for some shopping. You'll like that."

Usagi, as usual, did not reply.

* * *

Space stretched out on either side of them, vast and empty. Even with all of the planets and colonies and other objects scattered through its immense body, space was always empty. The infinite distance between stars could never be filled, no matter how hard humanity worked to clutter it like they had cluttered their planet. There, at least, was one comfort.

Duo thought so, anyway.

Indigo orbs searching out points of light in the darkness, the braided one felt it a lucky break for human beings that space was so vast. Even if people crawled far enough away from Earth to cause damage to more than just their own planet, there would still be room for them somewhere. It was more kindness than they deserved, really. And people thought that God was so unforgiving or uncaring. God was a softie, to let his children have full run of such a beautiful Creation, and love them no matter how much of it they destroyed.

"Duo, you okay?"

The indigo gaze was broken by startled blinking. Beside him, Quatre leaned on the armrest in earnest concern for the welfare of his silent friend. Shining blue eyes scrutinized every inch of Duo's face, searching for a trace or a glimmer of anything wrong. Duo gave the small blonde a trademark Shinigami grin and slapped the boy on the back.

"What're you even askin' me that for, huh? I'm fine!" Duo kept grinning even as Quatre coughed from the slap, "What could be wrong? Shinigami is goin' into battle again!"

"I-I just thought," the blonde choked out, "that you might be thinking about Usagi-san."

Just as quickly as he had turned it on, Duo let the façade of mirth slip from his clumsy fingers. He swallowed back the thought of his precious golden angel lying lifeless back on Earth and turned away from Quatre. Only blackness met his gaze from the other side of the window pane. Blackness and emptiness. He couldn't even see her face in the reflection.

"Duo, it's okay. You left her there to protect her. If Milliardo and the White Fang take out their anger on the Earthsphere, she could be harmed." He heard Quatre sigh and felt the slender hand pat his own. "You did the right thing to leave her behind."

"I'm not worried about having not done the right thing," Duo closed his eyes and shook his head, "I'm worried . . . that she won't be there when I get back. Not dead. Just . . . not there."

"Setsuna wouldn't take her away without letting us say goodbye. She couldn't be that cruel."

"She couldn't?" Duo snorted and turned back to his friend with a derisive glare. "She brought Usagi here, didn't she?"

He saw the pensive pause in Quatre's eyes. The blonde knew his words were true, and couldn't find a way to relieve Duo's worries. The braided one sighed, knowing that this would weigh on the little Arabian's mind unless he could be pacified.

"Hey man, don't worry about it. It's not your fault that Guardian is a heartless bitch. And it's definitely not your fault that I'm all worried! So get over it!"

* * *

"Duo! Stop! Let me go!"

Trowa glanced two rows over his right shoulder to see Duo holding Quatre in a friendly headlock, noogie-ing the poor boys hair into a platinum mess. A gentle smile crossed his features at the sight. It really was good for Quatre to be around Duo. As much as Trowa loved the little one, even he recognized the need for Quatre to loosen up a bit.

"It's just a little noogie, Quatre! If you can't handle that, how are you ever gonna fill up space with air, huh?"

Trowa smirked at that. Leave it to Duo to find Quatre's weakness and use it. Yes, the little blonde worked too much for it to be good for him. He could find fault in himself for the most obscure of problems and never once realize that it might not be his fault at all. Yet with all of this came a beautiful kindness, a gentleness that so few people had and most lacked. It was this more than anything else that drew the tall acrobat to this smaller, more delicate boy.

"Do you think either of them will make it?"

Trowa moved only his eyes to glance at Hiiro sitting beside him. The stoic one had been quiet until now, unusually silent even for Hiiro. Trowa assumed it had something to do with the lovely Sanch princess left on Earth.

"What do you mean?" Wufei asked for him.

"Quatre isn't quite over his brush with the Zero System," Hiiro clarified, never looking up from his flight tray, "and Duo has Usagi-san on the brain. I don't know if either of them is ready for a battle right now."

"You've got a point."

Trowa watched as Wufei leaned back in his seat, dark eyes glaring at the ceiling, one hand perched just beneath his chin. He seemed to be trying to think of a solution to the problem of their two weakest links.

"They won't be a problem." The other two looked at him with wide, unbelieving eyes. Trowa felt it only fair to elaborate what he meant. "Quatre is stronger than you two give him credit for. He can handle battle. He could handle the Zero System, if he had to. I have faith in him." The tall one shifted and glanced over his shoulder once more, where now Duo and Quatre were involved in some sort of heavy conversation. Turning back to his silent comrades, he continued, "Duo is as far from a liability as is possible to be. He doesn't let anything distract him while in battle. If you think his worry for Usagi-san will hinder him, you're wrong. It'll make him stronger. He'll want to protect her at all costs, and he won't let anything keep him from it."

Neither Hiiro nor Wufei ever made an answer to his little speech. But neither made another argument for them being weaknesses either. Satisfied, Trowa sat back in his own seat and crossed his arms. All that remained was arrival at their space headquarters. A ship that Duo's friend Howard had somehow come into command of.

Peacemillion.

* * *

_What are you doing here, Relena? You're insane!_

Relena Peacecraft looked up into the darkened, cold, uncaring metal face of the Alpha Gundam. This evil amalgam of science and magic stared back down at her with what seemed almost malicious stoicism. Underneath that inanimate glare she felt flattened and couldn't remember why she had left her meeting to come to this place.

_Why did I come here? Why?_

_Oh . . . right . . . the theory._

At her meeting with the civilian representatives of Sanch, the princess had not been able to keep her mind on what was being said. Instead she kept seeing the looming form of Alpha over her and hearing Quatre's excited voice proclaiming her to be the descendant of Usagi as some long ago Moon princess. As she sat there in the conference room, a myriad of voices floating about her head without actually penetrating it, a sudden and crazy idea had burst through her brain. Consequently she had burst from the room and down the halls until she stood before the great metal beast.

From the left leg of the giant Gundam, the Silver Crystal sparkled and beckoned to her.

Hesitantly, not trusting herself or her insane thought, Relena walked closer to Alpha and reached out to touch the glittering jewel. Hiiro claimed that he and the others had tried with no luck to remove the Crystal from Alpha. Someone, she couldn't exactly remember who- maybe Duo- had offered the idea that perhaps since Usagi controlled the gem, she was the only one who could remove it. Usagi or . . .

Someone related to her.

_This won't work . . . this can't work. It's crazy, it's stupid, it's—_

With the lightest touch, the Silver Crystal fell into her hand.

Relena jumped and nearly dropped her precious treasure. As much as she had wanted to believe that she was truly related to Usagi, and that her plan might work, she had never ever expected it to actually be true. And here the removal of the Crystal had been so easy for her. What other proof could she require of hr heritage?

"Usagi-chan," she whispered into the dark hangar. Because she knew exactly what she wanted to do with the Crystal now that it was freed from its metal shell of a home. The Sanch princess stumbled away from the machine that caused her so much fear and fled the hangar, Silver Crystal clutched tightly in both hands. Through the hallways, around servants and other worried people, past her own living quarters and into the room where her ill-fated ancestor tended to be. There she found Noin wheeling the girl's wheelchair over towards the sun-caressed window.

"Miss Relena! I didn't expect you from the meeting for another half hour! You're just in time, I just brought Usagi-chan back from our shopping tri—"

"Thank you, Noin," Relena gasped out, waving the woman away, "You may leave now." At Noin's confused look, Relena sighed and added quickly, "I'll call you if I require your services again, thank you." Looking ruffled and annoyed, Noin obeyed. Relena walked over to Usagi and knelt beside the wheelchair. "Usagi-chan, you used this Crystal to heal Trowa. If I'm truly your descendant, I should be able to use it to bring you out of this. But I . . . I don't know how. Help me, please."

Taking Usagi's hands with her own, the Silver Crystal clasped between the two pairs, Relena waited for some sort of sign and received nothing.

"Oh, please . . . Silver Crystal, I wish that Usagi-chan would wake up!"

Nothing.

Apparently the Crystal didn't respond to formally made wishes. Relena felt tears begin to overflow her eyes and desperation overtake her.

"What do I have to do?!? PLEASE Silver Crystal, listen to me! You know me as a member of the Moon royal family! Why won't you grant my wish?!?"

_I just want her to wake up . . . she knows so much more about being a princess than I do, I need her help! The pilots need her, DUO needs her! Silver Crystal, we all need her, please, at least let her know that we miss her!_

The shuddering pain in her heart grew with the muttering of her silent prayer and threatened to make her a victim of it alluring despair. All of her soul went into this one wish, this hope that her ancestor might awaken and make everything alright.

It was several moments before Relena realized that the tugging in her heart she felt was no longer her own pain, but the Silver Crystal draining the hurt away along with her prayer. Her fingers clasped about the jewel tightly; between them shone the pure white light that Quatre had described after the healing of Trowa. It burned.

_Thank you, Silver Crystal . . . _

Something wasn't right. She couldn't release the Crystal, it wouldn't let her. The more she struggled to pry her fingers away from its surface, the tighter they seemed to hold. But she couldn't keep holding it; it was draining her energy quickly with no signs of stopping. It was going to kill her! Relena struggled against the inevitable pull of the Moon Kingdom's most powerful weapon of destruction and hope.

Just as she felt the last strains of energy pass from her body into the Crystal., Relena's sight left her and the world went dark.

End Chapter Nineteen.


	21. Chapter 20

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing – Chapter Twenty**

Another battle loomed on the horizon. Quatre could feel it, deep inside the part of his soul that could feel these things. His heart already claimed pain that was not its own. The five Gundams perched silently in their comfortable new homes on Peacemillion, but the little blonde could already see the blood that would stain them. Oh no, not literally. No, in space there would be no blood. But in his mind and the minds of his comrades there would soon be spiritual blood added to that which already caked the seemingly clean surfaces of their beloved machines. He placed a hand on his beautiful Sandrock and wished that such a magnificent piece of work could be used for anything but for killing.

_My Quatre,_ the suit whispered to him in his secret soul, _I'm sorry I cannot be what you want . . . an instrument of peace instead of the most treasured weapon of Death. But I am only what I was made to be._

"I understand," spoke the delicate Arabian aloud, "I don't blame you for what you were designed to do."

The other four pilots were in the room, tending to their own Gundams. None of them looked at him strangely for speaking to Sandrock. They all had their own connections to their suits, some more than others. But all understood what he felt; the Gundams had minds and souls. They simply couldn't speak as their pilots could. Quatre knew without a doubt that Sandrock could think. He'd seen it the day his precious suit had saved his life before self-destructing.

"Hand me your wrench, will ya Wufei? I can't find mine." Without question or reply, Wufei obliged the braided one as Quatre looked on. In the corner Hiiro and Trowa both bent over the laptop. During the flight and the unloading, different pilots had worked together until all of them had labored with each of the others. Here their sweat mingled in a bond of friendship in toil. Out there, on the battlefield, it would be their blood mingling, if only figuratively.

"Quatre."

The little blonde turned to see Wufei standing behind him, dark eyes settled on him in an appraising look. Whatever was going on behind those eyes was completely the knowledge of the Chinese boy; Quatre could tell nothing.

"Wufei?"

"Are you nervous?"

Quatre gulped, feeling the knot in his throat almost slide down. Stubborn, though, it remained rooted deep and kept him from breathing properly. Was it that obvious? Could the others so easily see the tense anxiety that held reign over his insides?

"Y-yes. I haven't been in a battle like this since . . . since . . ."

"The Zero System incident," Hiiro offered, approaching from the other side. They sandwiched him between their two strong presences and made it impossible for him to get away. Vaguely he noticed Trowa standing behind Hiiro, arms crossed, saying nothing in his defense. His eyes swung to Deathscythe, where Duo tinkered lazily with a certain nut and bolt pair which seemed to be giving him particular trouble. He was pretending not to notice Quatre's predicament.

"The Z-Zero System, yes," Quatre stuttered, forcing himself to stand straight. If Hiiro and Wufei wanted to question his capability, so be it. But he would not let them take him from the team without a fight. "It was months ago, though. I . . . I can handle it."

"We know you can," Wufei said with a sudden, slight smile, "That's why we're installing the Zero System in Sandrock."

"With both you and I operating the Zero System, this battle shouldn't last long."

Quatre, eyes wide, looked back and forth between the two. This was not at all what he'd expected. Questions, yes, accusations, aloud wonderings of whether he was able to carry on in a battle. But not this . . . not this voluntary placing of him into a situation that could be potentially dangerous for them all.

"B-but . . . what if—"

"You won't go crazy," Hiiro waved off his concern, "you can take it. We all have faith in you, Quatre."

The little blonde dared to glance at Trowa, only to see that the taller one had returned to his place at the laptop. Quatre could feel the satisfaction and relief coming from his koi and knew that he had something to do with Hiiro and Wufei's sudden complete trust.

"Thank you," he said, but not only to the two standing before him. They both grunted and turned back to their own work. Trowa did not even look up at him, but the Arabian knew he had heard.

* * *

Daylight and sound broke into her blind, deaf world. The slits of golden yellow sunlight grew as she allowed her eyes to open, and the fuzziness of the bustling noise around her became clearer. But the light blinded her and the voices were still vague and unrecognizable. Aching in every muscle and pore of her body, she tried to push herself up only to be wrestled back down by unnamed hands.

"Don't try to move yet, Miss Relena; we're still not quite sure what happened to you or what its long term effects will be."

"Noin?"

"Yes, Miss Relena. Now—"

"She'll be fine, Noin-san." That voice was also familiar, but had not been recently heard. Who was it? Who used such odd suffixes? Who—

"Usagi-san!"

Relena opened her eyes wide and pushed Noin's hands aside, fighting against the dull ache in her bones. The room was filled with doctors and nurses, all of whom had no doubt been called into to examine her after what she hoped had been a simple blackout. But across from her, perched in most lady-like fashion on a white stool, sat Usagi. Awake and aware. The golden girl smiled brightly at Relena.

"Ohayo gozimasu, Relena-chan! Good morning! Now that you're awake, can we eat… I'm STARVING!!!"

She couldn't help it. Through her disbelieving tears a smile rose, followed soon by joyous laughter. Usagi was awake! How could anything in the world be worth tears when this one miracle had occurred? How could she do anything but laugh?

"I'm afraid you can't eat yet, Usagi-san," Noin stepped forward again, one hand crossed over her torso, and bowed to Relena. She seemed to be somewhat annoyed that her efforts at keeping her princess subdued had been neatly undermined by one teenage girl, but that passed quickly enough. "Since you're fully awake now, Miss Relena, there's something I think you should see." The expression on the lieutenant's face, however, said she'd rather do anything else except show this thing to her princess.

"What is it?" Panic slipped around her like a familiar old coat, one worn much too often. She knew somewhere that she would wear this coat many, many more times before her life was over. She watched as Noin motioned to a private to turn on the infirmary news screen.

"You've been unconscious for two days, Miss Relena. Before you say anything else, this is a recording of an announcement made yesterday afternoon."

As the princess gazed on the screen, once more her brother's face appeared larger than life. There was a new coldness there, however, that made the younger Peacecraft shiver. His face was a taut mask of barely concealed hatred and anger. Relena sensed that these emotions were aimless, without any real target. And so, he had created his own.

**"—if the Earthsphere does not bend to the White Fang's demands within forty-eight hours,"** Relena heard as she was finally able to tear her attention away from the physical rage showing on Milliardo's face, **"we will fire our beam cannon without mercy on the largest Earthsphere cities."**

"No . . ." Relena passed a frantic glance from her dark-haired lieutenant to the golden-haired girl sitting on the white stool, "No, he wouldn't do that! He couldn't do that!"

"He can, and he will." Noin and Relena both stared at the solemn-faced Usagi, who sighed and closed her weary eyes. "He isn't Milliardo Peacecraft anymore, or at least the one you knew. Look at him," she gestured to the man whose face filled the entire giant wall screen, "that isn't the compassionate and honorable man you described to me, Noin-san. Nor is that the protective older brother who sent someone to look after his baby sister, Relena-chan." Usagi opened her eyes and stared at the image for a few silent moments before turning her burning blue eyes to Relena. "He's dangerous."

The Sanch princess stared into the eyes of the ancient, unfathomable Moon princess and a deep, secret understanding was made between the two of them concerning the war, space, Hiiro, Milliardo, and many other things. Of them all, the most important was the one that spilled next from Relena's lips.

"I have to go to space. To stop him." Usagi quickly corrected her mistake.

"We have to go. Together."

* * *

"Dammit! How can they move so fast?!?" Duo's almost panicked voice echoed through the small cockpit of Sandrock, made thin by the inter-Gundam comm system. Quatre took a moment to dodge one of the phenomenally fast mobile dolls before replying.

"Even for mobile dolls, they're moving extremely fast; I don't understand how." Quatre, his trained sight allowing him to see almost all things on his screen at once, noticed a lone Gundam swarmed by mobile dolls. A quick adjustment to the magnification showed him Altron fighting a valiant losing battle against the metal monstrosities. "Wufei, you should move back, get away from them. They're over-powering you."

"Why?" Duo's voice cut in before Wufei could reply, "All he needs is a little backup!" As usual, the spirited and hasty Deathscythe pilot sped off to battle, giving no heed to the warning Quatre attempted to shout at him.

_We can't win like this . . . we aren't fighting together . . . we aren't using the bond that Usagi-san created for us . . . _

The decision, made in a hurried fraction of a second, was simple when the blonde considered the gruesome alternative. Mouth set in a line only known as determined, Quatre's fingers leapt upon the console, typing one word with the air of one who knows where their fate is to lead them.

Z-E-R-O.

A golden glow took over his front and side screens, a diffusion of light that carried on it the wave of strength that shone from within each of his companions always and Quatre seemed only to know in the most desperate of times. The battle swirled around him. Quatre spun Sandrock around. Altron and Deathscythe filled his screen.

"Wufei. Fly right through the enemy troops." The little blonde heard his own voice, cold and sharp, no longer the quiet tones of a boy who is a peacemaker, but the commanding resonance of a leader. He became less another fighter amongst the five of them, but their authority. "The rest of us will direct fire to where Wufei was."

"Quatre—"

"Don't fight me on this, Duo!" Quatre snapped as Heavyarms approached him from behind to begin carrying out their strategy, "This is the moment that Usagi-san prepared us for and it would be an insult to her if we didn't use the bond she created between us! We are friends and we are fighters, and we fight together from now on, do you understand me?" A pause decorated the space between the four suits, a silence that could mean almost anything. At long last Wufei spoke for both of the hesitant pilots.

"What's the rest of the plan?"

"The enemy's divided into a number of units," Quatre continued as if there had never been a delay, "Our chance is to defeat those units one at a time. Trowa, you attack on the upper right side. Then destroy the front unit, Duo and Wufei."

"Roger," Trowa snapped in true militaristic form.

"Gotcha."

"Good plan." Wufei's statement was made in what for him translated as an incredulous tone. Apparently even after Trowa's endorsement, the Chinese boy had never expected Quatre to be so strong, let alone take charge.

_The system's trying to control me,_ thought the blonde as he felt the insistent tugging at his mind, the feeling of ZERO tearing at his discipline, shredding it with its sheer persistence. "I can't let the system control me," he spoke aloud to bolster his determination, "There's no choice now but to master the system." _Show me what you know . . . show me, ZERO . . . _

A vague voice filled his head, one that he might recognize if he could truly hear the tone and not just the words . . .

**"I don't understand. The Gundams are predicting each of my moves. How come; what's happening?"**

Then Quatre understood.

"The movements of these mobile dolls aren't programmed. Someone's changing their tactics based on the actual battle. Gotta predict them . . ."

**"Who's doing this?" **the voice, clearer, asked his mind through ZERO, **"Who could it be?"**

"Someone's controlling these mobile dolls," Quatre murmured to himself, searching through the golden haze ZERO showed him, picking through the dull images in order to find the one that was relevant.

**"It must be . . ."** Female! The voice was female! Long hair, platinum blonde . . . a fierce expression unfitting a woman . . . **"Quatre Raberba Winner!"**

"Dorothy Catalonia!" Her face interrupted his mind with its stern frown and battle-glow. And then true comprehension dawned on him; she was using the Zero system as well. That was how she could predict the Gundams moves as efficiently as he did hers. But how? How had White Fang gotten the Zero System? It wasn't important.

So quickly that it snapped him back to full awareness, the link between his mind and that of Dorothy Catalonia was severed. She had deactivated her system. The mobile dolls dimmed and ceased responding accordingly. Suddenly the pilots were faced with a space battlefield filled with dead dolls.

"What happened?"

"The Zero system controlling the mobile dolls was deactivated," Quatre explained to Duo. He told them what he knew, and confessed his anxiety that Dorothy Catalonia must be up to something wicked if she had so suddenly switched her system off.

"I know what it is," Wufei grumbled, "Look, the Libra's beam cannon is preparing to fire. She must have told them to fire it at us."

"Then we must return to—"

"Shit!" It annoyed Quatre that he could be so easily interrupted by the braided one, but Duo didn't let him be annoyed for long. "There's a shuttle out here! It heading towards Libra and it's right in the path of the beam!"

"Who on Earth or any of the colonies would be insane enough to approach Libra at this point?"

"I don't know, Wufei, but we can't just leave them out there to be slaughtered." Quatre swallowed, feeling the initial burst of strength received from ZERO fade back into his usual tentativeness.

"You're right," the Chinese boy agreed, much to the blonde's delight and momentary confusion. Then he realized that Wufei must have truly been reminded of the lessons Usagi taught them. Especially him. After all, she had saved his life once, after he had been nothing but rude and unkind to her. Wufei had apparently taken her actions to heart.

"It's too late," Duo informed them even as he turned Deathscythe about, "The cannon's about to fire."

Truly it was, for in the next second there was a flash from Libra, then a spout of burning yellow light. The inert mobile dolls were destroyed immediately, the Gundams only scratched, and the shuttle was lucky enough to only catch a wing in the beam. Certainly some people aboard had been injured, but no one would have been killed from that. Quatre sighed in relief and made a mental note to next time not spend so much time talking, and merely act. Then he noticed something odd.

"Libra is taking the shuttle."

"I wonder . . ." Wufei could be heard muttering, but he did not elaborate and none of his companions felt the need to hear anything further. There was nothing any of them wanted more at that moment than to be back on Peacemillion resting for the next battle.

"Come on," Quatre sighed wearily as he turned Sandrock towards the ship, "I'm sure Hiiro won't be too far behind us. I doubt the next battle will end the same way this one did."

* * *

_Silence . . ._ thought Usagi as she peered out into space. The last time she has seen the blackness and the stars this up close had been when she traveled into the atmosphere of Earth in an attempt to escape Kunzite. And then she had not had the luxury of a glass window between herself and the void. Just another benefit of being Sailormoon and the Tsuki no Hime she supposed. But then she had seen space in a different light. Another year older and several allies wiser, Usagi saw in that vastness the face of a dear friend. There, in the velvet darkness that was the Universe, was the very thing that she and her protectors had once feared. Now she knew a young girl in whose eyes this scene could be found, in whose voice could be felt the limitless loneliness of space, and whose power was the very essence of silence. _Hotaru-chan . . . minna . . . I miss you. Mamo-chan . . ._

"What's wrong, Usagi-san?"

Feeling the light hand upon her shoulder, Usagi shook her head and discreetly wiped a tear from her cheek, a memorial to the friends she didn't know if she would ever see again. A glance behind showed the face of the Sanch princess, a tired visage that should have no room for anything save that weariness, but showed concern nonetheless.

"Just thinking about home," she replied with a sigh, for there was no reason to hide this from Relena, "about my friends there. I'm worried about them. Are they alright? Do they miss me?" Through the blurred wall of tears that attempted to block her vision Usagi managed to just make out the small smile her companion offered.

"Usagi-san, if they are your friends, then they must know you the way I do, and the pilots do. Of course they miss you. They have to miss you; you are a light in whatever darkness surrounds you. And . . . you give the people around you strength. If you've given them half of the strength you've given me, then your friends are fine, no matter what might happening in your own time."

Usagi nodded and took in a deep, calming breath as she tried to focus on what was going on around her at that moment. Technically, this was her future. But for the time she was there, it was her present and she needed to be fully there, not in the past.

The door on the opposite side of their shared room slid open. On the other side, standing straight and seemingly calm, was the ill-fated leader of the White Fang himself. He idled there, a strange uncertain light in his blue eyes, as if he were about to enter a place too holy for his mortal footsteps to soil. When neither of his two "guests" spoke to him, and he seemed unable to simply stand there and absorb their twin azure gazes, Milliardo Peacecraft took that first wary step inside and allowed the doors to slide shut behind him. If it were not for his actions, Usagi would never know that he was capable of the violence he threatened on the Earthsphere. The man who stood in the room with them gazed on Relena as if she were some distant goddess manifested before him. Those eyes, so blue, so much like his little sister's . . .

With a sudden jolt Usagi realized that this man too was her descendant. She had of course known that Milliardo was Relena's older brother and rightful heir to Sanch, but until that moment it had simply never occurred to her what that meant as far as his relationship to her. Before either of the two Peacecrafts could begin to speak, Usagi stepped forward, raised herself onto her toes, and wrapped her arms around the taller man. She felt him stiffen in her embrace, no doubt surprised and suspicious of this action.

"Daijoubu," she told him even though he would not understand, "daijoubu, I forgive you."

His hands closed around her shoulders and pushed her away from him. He stared at her with narrowed eyes, attempting to discern the motive behind her curious action and words. She put forth no aura of deception, for there was no trickery anywhere within her. At last, no comprehension at all in his gaze, Milliardo tossed Usagi aside and turned to Relena.

"I understand you wanted to speak with me," he asked with a small, ironic smile curling his lips. Why else would Relena have left Earth in a shuttle and put that small ship in the direct path of Libra's beam cannon?

"Yes. I want you to stop this. There is nothing to be gained from what you threaten except the deaths of millions of people, perhaps more. It is foolish, and goes against everything we stand for, as Peacecrafts. Please, brother," Relena entreated him as much with her eyes as she did with her words, "please don't do this."

Usagi watched, waited, held her breath while the platinum-haired man regarded his younger sibling. She realized that this was a man who saw himself as completely unworthy of anything good in life, of any kindness or love. That was why he did not assume the throne of Sanch. And he saw Relena as the only person able to take on that mantle, and perhaps he was correct. Truthfully, the younger girl had ruled the kingdom much more ably than her brother had controlled his life.

"No, I'm sorry," came his reply, in tones of determined regret, "this is my destiny. It's the way things have to be, Epyon showed me the future. You can't understand." Usagi couldn't understand how he could remain so calm when he knew he spoke of the destruction of the Earthsphere, and by his own actions. But he merely stared down at Relena with eyes that were filled with sorrow, but hard with conviction. He would not back down, she knew it, and she could see that Relena knew it as well.

"The Gundam pilots will stop you."

Milliardo did not seem surprised or horrified by his sister's statement. He simply tilted his head to the side, taking it in, and nodded.

"Perhaps. Perhaps I will prevail. If not for the rash actions of Miss Catalonia, I might have defeated Hiiro Yui only moments ago. Then again, maybe it was also destiny for that battle to end the way it did. Maybe I was meant to kill him at a later time, maybe he is destined to kill me. Either way, I will defend the colonies in the way I was shown. I know you can't understand this, Relena. You're too innocent and too good. I would never expect you to understand it. But this is the way my life must play out; I could not have chosen another way."

_Destiny . . . _

Such a wicked word, in Usagi's mind. As much as she wanted to scream at him that destiny was not something that was shown, it was something that was unfurled, she could not. She remembered a long ago day, a year ago, four thousand years ago, when those words had been spoken to her. _It is your destiny to fight the Enemy!_ It was her destiny to fight, to love Mamo-chan, to be a queen and a mother. These things she could never deny, for they were a part of her that she had seen glimpses of and would know when she grew. So she understood destiny, even if she didn't like the idea of some power ruling over human lives. So she had to let Milliardo leave with his insane vision intact.

_Kami-sama . . . help him to see the truth before it's too late . . ._

* * *

Silent, staring at various points of the starkly lighted conference room, the five Gundam pilots sat immersed in their own diverse thoughts. No one spoke, even Quatre and Trowa who nevertheless stayed close to one another. Wufei stood at the large window with a cup of steaming coffee in his hand, dark eyes staring into the void that matched them in color. Duo sat at the sterile steel table, his own cup sitting untouched before him. His violet eyes were dull, and there was no doubt as to what thoughts danced around his head. Hiiro sat as well, though he took up the seat at the far end of the table, away from the rest, as usual. But now this was not so much of a separation, because even though he still preferred to remain physical apart from his comrades, he did not feel so separate from them mentally or emotionally anymore. He had not yet decided whether he liked this new camaraderie or not.

His thought train was derailed by the sound of hurried footsteps banging down the metal corridors towards their quiet room. They all heard it, but none of them moved. There was only one set, and there had been no alarms. It was one of their own, no invasion. In moments a harried Howard tried to stop inside the doorway but slid on the slick floor and forward into the room. He stumbled, then windmilled his arms and managed to remain standing. The five pilots looked up with five sets of battle-dulled eyes and waited for the man to make whatever statement he had come to make.

"S-she's coming," his words were interrupted by exhausted panting, "h-here, t-to Peacemillion."

"Who?" Duo asked blandly, his posture and his tone indicating how much he really cared.

"Noin! S-she says—"

"What do you mean Noin?!?" The braided one pushed his cup away, spilling the dark liquid over the tabletop, "She's supposed to be on Earth watching Usagi-chan!"

_And Relena . . . _

"The girl you're talking about," Howard seemed to be catching his breath, "Usagi-san; she's awake. Noin couldn't give me any details, but she said to tell you that Usagi-san is awake and she and Relena are on Libra."

Hiiro felt a panic surge within him at those words. Not only was Relena no longer safely on Earth, but she was in the middle of the lion's den itself.

"The shuttle!" Quatre cried, wide-eyed, "It was Relena and Usagi-san!"

"Damn!" Duo whirled and kicked over his chair in a fit of fury, "Damn, damn, damn! Damn those women! Why can't they for ONCE stay out of business that isn't theirs!"

"You've been spending too much time around me, Maxwell," murmured Wufei as he settled a hand on the braided one's shoulder to calm him, "It doesn't suit you." The Chinese boy was amazingly serene in the face of this new information. "Usagi-san is not the sort to remain safe while her friends fight, and Relena is truly Usagi-san's descendant. We cannot curse them for being brave."

In Hiiro's opinion there was a very, very fine line between bravery and stupidity. Unlike Wufei, he had not yet decided which category the two girls' actions fell into. Considering, however, that he and the other pilots had things in space well under control, he would most likely have to say it was stupid.

"What do we do?" Quatre's wide, watery eyes scanned the others. Hiiro stood and turned his back to them and walked to the doorway.

"I'll go get them. I'll go alone; I won't be gone long." He assumed that the other pilots realized that trying to stop him would be futile at best and fatal at the worst. None of them tried to stop him.

* * *

Relena was asleep only halfway peacefully on one of the small beds when the door slid open a second time. Usagi turned to face Milliardo but was greeted instead with the sight of Hiiro in the door, gun gripped gently in his right hand like a loved child. His eyes landed on Relena's prone but safe form and Usagi saw in their Prussian blue depths a small flicker of relief. Then it was gone and he looked at her.

"You're awake."

"Hai, Hiiro-kun," she replied, unable to keep the sarcasm from her voice, "thank you for noticing." She couldn't help feeling annoyed at his constant astute statement of things that were quite obvious. "Here to rescue us, or just dropping by for a friendly visit?"

"Rescue," he grunted, "and to kill Zechs if I get the chance."

"No," Usagi shook her head vehemently, sending golden streamers flying on either side of her slender frame, "you won't kill him. Relena won't let you, and neither will I. He isn't evil, Hiiro-kun, he's just confused."

"I'm not Wufei. I won't let him destroy the Earthsphere just because you tell me not to kill."

"Haven't you killed enough in your short lifetime?!?"

Her shout was too loud. Before Hiiro could reply, Relena stirred on the bed and turned over, her blurry eyes blinking and then focusing on the shape of the boy in the doorway.

"Hiiro?"

"Relena. Let's go."

The Sanch princess did not question him. She merely rose from her resting place and followed him as he led the way out. Usagi trailed not far behind, but her mind was more concerned about what would happen to this boy. She knew, from what Setsuna had told her, that he was important somehow. But his attitude hadn't seemed to have changed much since she'd been here. Isn't that what she was supposed to do? Change his attitude?

_I've failed._

* * *

The confrontation with Milliardo came, as it was meant to, and it went. Hiiro did not kill him, thought it could not be said for his lack of trying. The pilot delivered Usagi and Relena safely to Peacemillion, where a disapproving Wufei and frantic Duo both admonished the girls for putting themselves in danger. Usagi her equally stubborn descendant promptly put their scolders in their places. With the confidence and airs that only princesses can affect, they reminded the pilots of their own stupidity in leaving space to pit the five of them against the entire mobile doll army of the White Fang. Wufei and Duo were not appreciative when, in an attempt to help, Quatre piped up and reminded them that not only were they fighting mobile dolls, but mobile dolls controlled by the Zero System. Fairly soon the Chinese boy and the braided one were wondering when they had progressed from scolders to scoldees.

Noin gave both girls a hug but was not foolish enough to attempt a reprimand.

A good nights sleep and a stress-filled day later, the pilots were called once more to battle. Libra's position changed in space as it prepared it last great defense of the space colonies. A defense that would leave the Earthsphere barren and mostly dead. Usagi was greatly relieved by the knowledge that they, unlike in her one venture into mobile suit battle, would be fighting soulless machines with no pilots. Still, the entire situation was heavy in her mind because of the great significance it had on the whole of humanity. Could the Gundam pilots truly win this war on their own? They were five ordinary human beings, without the exceptional abilities that made her and her Senshi protectors of Earth.

And Hiiro, he was going off to fight Milliardo alone. Relena had gone with him to the hangar as he prepared to leave, minutes after the others already had. Usagi had not pried; she knew not what was said, but the princess who had been determined to convince Hiiro not to leave emerged alone.

"Usagi-san!"

She blinked and pulled her gaze away from the viewscreen and the brilliant trailers of blaster fire that colored it. Noin had a hand around her arm and was pulling her frantically. Around them the others, which included a woman Usagi had not met before named Sally Po, were quickly running from Peacemillion's bridge.

"Nani?"

"Usagi-san, we're ramming Peacemillion into Libra to try and divert it's course. We have to evacuate now." The lieutenant did not berate her for not paying attention, but the look on her face suggested that she wanted to very much. Usagi nodded and allowed herself to be lead away to an escape pod along with Relena and other, nameless members of the Peacemillion crew. Outside and all around them the battle surged on without giving any notice to the small ship escaping its cold grip. Usagi saw the other girl's blue eyes scanning the space between the stars and knew that she was searching for a certain stubborn pilot and misguided brother.

Perhaps time for the participants of the battle went by quickly, in a blur of motions and decisions, one life and death struggle back to back with another. But for the simple observers in the ship, time slowed down. Usagi wondered if this was Setsuna's doing, or her own cruel imagination. Either way, time crawled over her eyes as separate dots in the void exploded and she couldn't know whether they were mobile dolls, or the last bright blossom of life from one of those six fighters out there who had souls. Seven . . . seven fighters. Somewhere along the way, she remembered, the man named Treize had arrived. Was he still out there as well, or had he been one of the explosions?

Finally, something seemed to be happening. The lights were fewer, and finally were only . . . four? Only four of them? And those four were crowded about Libra, blasting it, trying to make it break apart. But they would never succeed, it was too big—

Then there was an eruption from inside the star-crossed ship and Usagi suddenly realized where the other two lights were. Wait . . . there was one, outside of Libra. Falling into the burning atmosphere. At this rate it would burn up before it managed any good. It was a suicide.

_Hiiro . . . _

"HIIRO!"

At her side, Relena stared wide-eyed into the vastness and held her breath.

* * *

Light expanded from the lone section of the Libra still headed for Earth. The explosion was soundless in the vast emptiness of space, but it blared with ominous force inside her mind. Her hands were spread on the window of the shuttle, her blue eyes wide and quivering as she stared into the fading brilliance that had been the light. _Milliardo . . . Hiiro . . . _

There was nothing from within the Earth's atmosphere, where Wing Zero had vanished into a bright orange cloud of burning gases.

"Are they alive?" she whispered a spilt second before she turned her helmeted head to the man who was piloting the shuttle, "ARE THEY ALIVE?!?"

"I can't be certain about Mister Milliardo, but I didn't register any explosion from the other suit. And I'm not reading any debris."

Relena's breath left her in a relieved whoosh. Somehow she had been certain his words would be different. Almost . . . almost she could hear him telling her that there was no way Hiiro could have survived. But that was not what he had said, and she let the vague mist-like thought leave her. It never returned.

In moments Wing Zero emerged from the orange atmosphere like a triumphant phoenix risen from a world's ashes.

* * *

A week later there was a party in Sanch Palace. There were celebrations spanning over the entire realm of human control, both on Earth and in space. The war was over, peace would reign. The five boys who had once been nameless, then pariahs, were suddenly venerated as the heroes of the war of AC 195. None of them particularly liked the attention, save perhaps Duo, but Hiiro in particular had a difficult time dealing with the unexpected focus on him. Quatre was used to it, and Trowa put up with it for his benefit. Wufei remained calm under any circumstances, though there had been a deeper darkness in him since that last battle. Something that dealt with the death of the man Treize, but no one asked him about it and he shared with no one. The five were closer, but they were not that close. Yet.

Usagi watched over them as Hiiro and Relena waltzed, Duo muttered to himself in a corner, Wufei was surrounded by admiring girls at his table. Sally Po was the only one he paid any attention to, and that was only to ask her to refill his drink. Usagi laughed when she brought him the drink, then poured it over his head. Quatre and Trowa were oblivious to all else in the room. Noin had been subdued since the unconfirmed announcement of the death of Milliardo Peacecraft, a.k.a Zechs Merquise. She and Lady Une were hovering over the long buffet table, not eating but talking. From what Usagi could understand they were talking about setting up a special organization whose purpose would be to watch for and extinguish possible future crises. Howard was passed out at one of the smaller, circular tables, completely drunk. Dorothy Catalonia hung back at one wall, uncomfortable with being in a room with people who until recently she fought against. She didn't seem to know what to think now that they had so kindly forgiven her and welcomed her to their celebration of the war's end. Usagi couldn't blame her.

"Would you care to dance?"

Usagi blinked, brought from her observations by the deep voice that had uttered the question. She saw a golden-hued hand extended into her line of vision, and followed that to the arm up to the shoulder and finally to the delicately masculine face. Dark eyes stared passively at her, waiting for a response.

"H-hai, Wufei-kun." She took his hand in hers and he pulled her closer, into the waltz position. She was glad that he had changed his shirt since Sally dumped punch on him. Heat rose to her face; she'd never danced this close to anyone save for Mamo-chan, and that had only been once. As other people noticed them, there came soft murmurs and some whistles. Usagi dared a glance up as his face, and saw to her shock that Wufei was blushing as well.

"Hey, Wufei!" called a voice from the crowd, distinctly female, "No wonder you weren't paying any attention to any of us!"

Usagi's face heated to furnace power. They were insinuating that . . . that Wufei . . . but no! He couldn't! Not her! Could he? No . . . he had Sally Po. Some of the built up pressure in her furnace of a face released at that comforting thought. Wufei couldn't possibly . . . not when Sally . . .

Over Wufei's shoulder, she caught a glimpse of a very put out looking Duo.

* * *

_Damn Wufei . . . he never said anything . . . he never gave any clue . . . damn him!_

Several hours after the end of the party, Duo was still wandering about, cursing his fellow pilot's hidden smooth nature. Obviously Wufei had had designs on Usagi the entire time, he was just crafty. Yes, that's it. Very crafty. And exotic. With that golden skin and ebony black hair and eyes, Wufei certainly had more of a mysterious attractiveness than Duo. But he was also a chauvinist. Usagi would never go for that. No, she couldn't; she was too independent and strong-willed.

"Ha ha! Back off Honor Boy, Shinigami still has a chance!"

Outside the door to Usagi's room, Duo paused, hearing a conversation from the inside. One voice was Usagi's, the other was Setsuna's. Duo's throat clenched. Setsuna couldn't be here to take Usagi back! Not yet! Not when he was so close!

"Demo, I don't understand, Setsuna-san. I didn't do anything."

"You did, Usagi-chan. It's hard to explain what you did, but you're just being here changed their futures for the better. You'll understand—"

"When I'm older." Usagi intoned with her, the sound in her voice that of an exasperated teenager who has heard something much too often. There came the sound of Setsuna chuckling.

"Hai, Usagi-chan."

A pause.

"Can't I at least say good-bye to them?"

"It would be best if you didn't. You are almost as close to them as you are to your Senshi in your own time. If you tried to say good-bye, it would only be harder for you to leave."

Duo couldn't stand it. She was going to leave without warning! Without a good-bye!

"Stop!" He let go of all pretenses of eavesdropping and turned into the room, eyes wide and desperate. Setsuna's maroon eyes settled on him, and she didn't look at all surprised to see him there. Usagi, however, looked on him with a surprise akin to shock. "You can't just leave without saying good-bye! You can't _leave_!" Not caring at all about Setsuna or what she would think, Duo surged forward and took Usagi's hands into his own. He locked her gaze with his and tried to convey in that look what he felt, what he wanted. "Usagi-chan . . . Usagi . . . onegai . . . aishiteru!" He saw her eyes widen even more. Blue swirled into blue as he watched. He knew she was confused, perhaps even angry. But he couldn't just let her walk out forever. Setsuna would make sure he'd never see hr again. "Usagi . . ."

Usagi slapped him.

Not hard, not enough to seriously hurt him, but enough to sting more than just his cheek. He felt his heart fall into a million pieces and shatter in the hollow place that was his chest. She had spoken no words, but the slap was more than enough. Eyes lowered, he backed away in silence and left the room. He didn't look back.

End Chapter Twenty. Stay tuned for Broken Wing: Epilogue


	22. Epilogue

**Author's Notes:** Well, apparently, Broken Wing is back. I'm reposting this in preparation to repost what is currently written of the sequel, Mended Wing, and then the future chapters as I finished them. Everyone please remember this fic was written several, several years ago. I have not rewritten anything, it's all exactly as it was then. It was quite popular back in the day here on but I think the fanfiction audiences may have been less sophisticated back then. Haha! Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this reposting of BW, and I hope some people are still looking out for new chapters of MW.

Speaking of, I created a forum in order to ask for beta help for MW, considering it's been so long since I worked on it at all. Any betas in the audience?

**Disclaimers:** All disclaimers remain the same. Don't own 'em, you know who does.

**NOTE:** Sorry for the delay, fanfiction dot net has been stupid for me lately.

**Broken Wing – Epilogue**

Duo yawned and plopped down on his couch, remote control in his hand an instant after he hit the plush, green surface. He reached in long, languid movements over his head towards the end table where his soda sat patiently waiting to be consumed. Which he did in that manner reserved for members of the male species: in one large gulp. Then he resumed his activity of channel surfing through the myriad of channels his television set had to offer him.

Six months. Six months since that day he had walked out of Usagi's room. He hadn't seen her since. Setsuna had made good on her offer to take Usagi away before she could say goodbye. Quatre was hurt, but with Trowa beside him he got over it quickly. The rest were a little stung as well, but none of them would show it. Especially Wufei and Hiiro.

It took Duo a while, but he finally understood why Usagi had slapped him. She agreed with Setsuna, and hadn't expected to see any of them, especially not him. And she hadn't expected such a raw confession. And . . . as Trowa had tried to tell him on that long ago day in a forest clearing . . . she was in love with someone else. So she had seen him off in a way she thought would be less painful. By hurting him. She slapped him, making him angry, so he wasn't so sad to see her go. Also, it had been a way of rejecting his affection and offer without having to say the words aloud. She couldn't have said such hurtful words aloud, now he knew.

**"Today, Vice Minister Darlian presented Lucrezia Noin of the Preventers, former officer in the OZ organization, with a special medal for loyalty . . ."**

He tuned out the rest of the news program. It was the only thing remotely interesting on, but he didn't care to see anything dealing with the people, places, or things that reminded him of the war and of Usagi.

A knock at the door elicited a deep growl from him, followed by a weary sigh. If it was another door-to-door salesman . . .

"Alright already! I'm comin'!" He yelled as his visitor knocked again. Grumbling the entire way, strings of hair falling loose from his braid, Duo trudged to the door and swung it open, prepared to chase away a middle-aged, balding man with a briefcase.

"Ohayo gozimasu, Duo." Setsuna's maroon eyes peered down at him, sparkling with some sort of secret amusement, "I hope you remember that much of what Usagi-chan taught you."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Just as direct as ever, I see. Good." She smoothed down the front of her rather civilian looking dark purple shirt, which was a lovely long-sleeved garment made from velveteen or some similar fabric. "I'm here," she said, drawling out the words in a seeming attempt to torture him, "to take you somewhere. To let you see something."

"Oh no!" He backed away from her, cornering himself into his apartment where he couldn't escape, "Knowing you, you'd take me to the Spanish Inquisition or something! And I'd get burned as a witch! No thank you!"

"Nothing so dramatic, Duo. In fact, we don't even have to leave the colony. You've been living so close to them all this time, and you never even realized."

"Them? Who's them?" He narrowed his eyes, trying to decide whether she was serious or if this were some sort of mind game. And just WHAT business did the Guardian of Time have in showing up unannounced randomly on his doorstep anyway?!?

"If you come with me, you'll see." She offered him an ever-so-sweet smile, the type that was likely to have him believing everything she said. If he didn't already know her for what she was. But, damn her, she'd aroused his curiosity.

"Sure. You said it's not far, right?"

"Correct."

"Then lead on."

Setsuna turned and began walking, trusting Duo to follow her without a backward glance. He did, only then realizing what a mess his hair was in. Ah well, it wasn't as if he was going to see people he KNEW. Then again . . . considering Setsuna and who she was, one never could be certain. So he spent the time walking getting his hair back into some semblance of neat. It was a good thing too, because not long after he finished Setsuna stopped before the door to another of the colony's personal apartments. She didn't even bother to ring the bell, she simply walked right inside and beckoned him to follow after. The former Deathscythe pilots gulped and took a tentative step inside, violet eyes sweeping the room.

There appeared to be a party in progress. _Hell, at least I can get something to drink if I need it. _The room was decked out in white and silver crepe streamers with matching balloons tied and taped to every available surface. Over on the far wall a long table was set up with bowls of chips, vegetables, dips, and crackers. On one side of that stood a smaller, round table with a white cake, and on the other side was a matching table with a smaller, pink cake. Milling around in all of this food and finery were one man and seven women, one of whom he recognized.

"Duo!" called Mizuno Ami, waving her arm in the air. She looked odd and out of place for a moment, then Duo realized she wasn't wearing her white lab coat. He gulped and walked over to her, as she and Setsuna seemed to want him to do. "Duo, let me introduce my friends." Ami turned and proceeded to point at the three women surrounding her each in turn, "This is Hino Rei," she indicated a stunning woman with violet eyes much like his own and long, raven-colored hair, "Kino Makoto," the tall woman with the brown ponytail and startling green eyes nodded to him, "and Aino Minako," the blonde, blue-eyed woman flashed him a winning smile, and his heart ached. She resembled Usagi so much. "You'll of course remember the name rule Usagi-chan taught you."

"Huh? Oh." That's right . . . family names came before personal names. "Who are they?" he asked of the other three; one of the girls looked much younger than the rest here.

"Oh, minna, will you come over here please?" Ami addressed the small group and they dutifully filed over, although the two oldest looked unhappy about being asked to join the others. "This is Duo. If you would be so kind as to introduce yourselves?"

"I'm Tomoe Hotaru," said the youngest, dipping her full body slightly in a graceful half-curtsey. "A pleasure." Her eyes sparkled with some secret knowledge and Duo shuddered. Those eyes unnerved him.

"Keioh Michiru," said the teal-haired woman, her dark blue eyes soft and kind. She carried herself with a sophisticated refinement and there was nothing less than elegance in her smile.

"Tenoh Haruka," said the last in a gruff, distrusting voice and with a start Duo realized that this wasn't a man, but yet another woman. Haruka offered him her hand and nearly crushed his in her grip. "We've heard a lot about you, Duo Maxwell." And she didn't seem to be too happy about what she'd heard.

"What's going on here?" He stole a glance at Setsuna, who merely smiled and remained silent.

"Duo-kun."

He froze. His breath caught and a shiver coursed through his body. That voice . . . that voice! Oh, he should have realized . . . Setsuna was an old friend of hers, and so was Ami. These women must be the others she had talked about, the friends and protectors . . . that meant . . .

"Aren't you going to tell me hello at least?" The owner of that soft voice moved into his view, and Duo swallowed the lost breath in an attempt to find a new one.

It was Usagi, but older and different. She had grown, taller by perhaps a foot but not much more. Her eyes were a deeper, clearer blue than he remembered, much more like sapphires than the topazes of before. And her hair . . . the wonderful streamers of sun-gold that had once feathered around her small face had changed into an ethereal silver-white. The face, untouched by the time that he knew had passed for her, nevertheless showed invisible signs of the aging she had undergone and the trials she had seen. Four-thousand years of rule and life were written in the paleness of her cheeks and the delicacy of her smile.

"U-Usagi-chan . . . no, you're not Usagi. You're NeoQueen Serenity."

"I was, but that was a long time ago for me, you know that Duo. Now I'm just Serenity."

"You're not gonna hit me for calling you Usagi?" he joked, rather weakly indeed, and a thin laugh ensued.

"No. We've stopped using those suffixes. The times changed on us and we had to follow them no matter how hard we tried."

"So, uh, what's the point in bringing me here anyway?" _To torture me?_ he thought, but did not add.

"I don't—" Serenity was interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open and two sets of footsteps.

"Sere? We're home!" The voice was male, deep and powerful. Duo cursed inwardly and stepped back, disappearing into the crowd of women around him. He knew who this man must be. His suspicion was confirmed by the celestially bright smile that lit Serenity's face and the high octave her voice reached.

"ENDY!!!!!"

The former queen dashed across the room with all of the vibrancy and abandon that Duo remembered in Usagi. Waiting for her were the open arms of a tall, muscular man with thick black hair and shining midnight blue eyes. His skin was bronzed, but it was obviously a suntan and not his natural shade. His smile widened as his arms closed about Serenity's slender waist.

"I don't know why you insisted I stay on the Earthsphere for all this time, but I am SO glad to be home."

"Mama!" cried a high-pitched, insistent voice from Endymion's other side, "Mama look! I got full marks for all of my classes for the past two semesters!" The two parted, showing a small, pretty face flushed pink with excitement and pride. The face very much resembled that of Serenity; the girl even had the same hairstyle, although her hair was a sickening shade of cotton-candy pink to match her cheeks. The girl looked to be about his own age, maybe a year or two younger. Serenity grabbed the piece of paper the girl was waving about and began jumping up and down inside Endymion's arms, clearly as excited as the pink-haired one.

"That's amazing, Chibiusa!! Look, Endy, did you see her grades?!?"

"Serenity always gets excited over her daughter's grades," Ami whispered into his ear, "because her own grades when she was in school were horrible. Chibiusa has never made anything except straight A's, but you'd think she'd broken the sound barrier every time she comes home from school." The twin screechings of two excited odango atama's filled the room. "Maybe she has . . ." Ami added, trying to discreetly cover her ears.

_Her daughter . . . _

Duo fought down a lump of jealousy and anger that has coalesced in his throat. So this was the man Usagi loved so much, the one she had slapped him for, the one she wanted to get back to so quickly. No wonder, he was handsome and tall, and obviously older than she was, not younger like himself. And . . . as much as Duo hated to admit it, Endymion loved her. The feeling burned in his eyes every time he looked at the shining silver queen. She had the love of a good man, and an intelligent daughter to be proud of. Duo watched the three, the small but happy family, and knew that there was no reason for Usagi to have stayed with him when she had this waiting for her back in her own time. Perhaps not right then, but ahead of her.

He moved over to Setsuna and scowled.

"You've tortured me enough, Guardian. I'm leaving." Turning to make good on his threat, Duo felt the iron grip of Setsuna fall on his shoulder.

"Not yet, Duo. You've seen only the surface."

"Wha—"

Laughter interrupted his angry shout and he dared to glance over his shoulder. Serenity, her husband and daughter, and her group of protective friends, were all sharing stories about the former queen's long-ago school days. The laughter had come from everyone except Serenity, whose face was bright red with indignation. She was shouting something about once making a B on a math quiz. Rei shot back with "Yeah, the one miracle you were allotted for your lifetime!" There was more laughter, but it quickly died down as all of their faces became taught with some memory.

"I think we've all gotten more than our fair share of miracles," Ami said quietly. The others all nodded in agreement. Duo wondered what could have made this rambunctious group sober so quickly. "Serenity saved our lives so many times . . ."

"Not nearly as many times as you've saved mine," the silver one replied, tearing up slightly.

"If not for you, I'd be dead long ago," murmured the little one, Hotaru. Michiru and Haruka looked somewhat uncomfortable. It was Michiru who finally spoke.

"And we'd be murderers."

"I wouldn't even exist," said Chibiusa, who took her mother's hand in her own and offered up a reassuring smile. There was something there . . . some old understanding between the two of them.

"I'd be alone," Endymion said, smoothing back a particularly ornery strand of silvery hair from Serenity's face.

"We'd all have been alone." Rei gave a small, uncertain smile that didn't seem to fit on her face. Duo thought that hers was a face that should be strong and confident, not timid. "We didn't always tell you how important you were to us, but without you we all would have been lost."

"It was more than just our vow to protect you, Serenity," continued Makoto, "your kindness drew us to you, and your loyalty. Your courage too; no matter how bad the situation was you were always there for us, even though you were afraid."

"You loved us before you knew us, because your soul remembered us from the Silver Millennium." Minako took her sobbing queen into her arms and gave her a tight hug. "When we became your friends and met each other, it was like coming home. We somehow knew we had found the parts of our lives that were missing, and you were the central part of that. You have always been and will always be our dearest friend."

Serenity nodded through her tears and sniffed cutely as her four closest friends comforted her. But the admissions weren't over yet. Hotaru had already thanked her, but there was more for the other two to say.

"Serenity, we didn't know it then, but you showed us our true mission, and gave us a new path." Michiru smiled. Serenity looked on her with wide-eyes, and it was obvious that even after all of the millennia that had passed, the queen still looked up to these last two women with nothing less than total awe and admiration. "If you had not shown us how to work with . . . our friends . . . we would have continued to fight alone."

"I would have been happy with that," Haruka muttered with a loving, sidelong glance at the elegant woman beside her. But soon her stern face broke into a smile as well. "I know I seemed the hardest to convince, but I knew then too how important you were, not just to us, but to Earth and the solar system." She shrugged and looked away. "You were a crybaby sometimes, but you did great."

"Arigatou, minna!" Serenity cried, reverting in her emotion to her old language. Tear-filled laughter erupted from her companions and they all began to speak in a flurry of Japanese in which Duo quickly got lost. Yet it didn't matter. He smiled.

"Setsuna."

"Yes?"

"I'm ready to go. I understand."

"Good."

He walked towards the door and the Guardian did not follow. Unlike him, she belonged here. No doubt she had something to say to Serenity as well, some thanks or admission of loyalty. Serenity was like that; people adored her and followed her without always knowing why at first. But inevitably they came to understand that she was simply the brightest star in the Heavens. At the door, Duo stopped and turned.

"Setsuna, will . .. eh . . . will I, I mean will we . . . you know . . .?"

"Perhaps." The Guardian replied with a mysterious smile. "Time is infinite. There may be a chance for you and your friends to cross paths with Usagi-chan again."

"But I shouldn't hold my breath, right?"

Setsuna only smiled again. Duo smirked and shook his head. She certainly was something else. They all were. Maybe he'd come back for a visit sometime. Then again, maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he didn't need to.

He stepped outside and suddenly felt lighter and happier than he had in a very long, lonely time.

Broken Wing- The End

**Please note this author's note was written about six years ago after I originally ended the story.**

Authors Notes: Oh wow. I can't believe it. After over a year of writing and working and whining and deliberations and changes to the original plot . . . I'm actually done. Broken Wing is finished. EEEEEK!!! Okies, sorries, I had to get that out. I feel better now. Looking back, I don't really remember how I first came upon the idea for Broken Wing. I do remember that the entire story was originally supposed to revolve around the Alpha Gundam, and Usagi was supposed to fight in the final battle. As you all can see, it didn't quite turn out that way. The thanks for why this was changed will be covered in the thank you section. Most of you probably would have preferred that Usagi fought in Alpha in the battle, but personally, I like this ending better. Usagi also was originally supposed to be something of a trainer for them, a leader like she was to the Senshi. However, that idea got scrapped soon enough as well, for the simple reason that I could never see the Gundam Boys ever following Usagi as a leader, no matter how much they came to like her as a friend. Then I realized that she might not HAVE to lead them. Her just being there and interacting with them and changing their perceptions of their friendships just might be enough.

A question I know is going to come up is this: Will there be a sequel? The answer is: Yes, most likely. Actually, I have ideas for two more stories to be set in the universe created by Broken Wing, so this will actually be a trilogy. The sequel will be called Mended Wing, and will reverse the roles. In other words, it will take the Gundam Boys and place them in the past, in Usagi's time. However, Mended Wing will NOT be my next fanfic. There are still some things I need to work out for it. Anything other than that I am not at liberty to say!

So, Sailorcelestial, what WILL your next fanfic be then? Well, my next fanfic will be titled Wayward, and it's a straight Gundam Wing fanfic. No Sailormoon, no any other anime. Just the characters from Gundam Wing. Except Hilde. I was actually supposed to kill Hilde in chapter 20 of BW, but I never got around to it. She just didn't seem important enough to mention, let alone kill. Sorry for those of you who like her. ::shrugs::

Now for my thankies list:

**Trenchcoat Man: **Thank you so, so, so much for convincing me not to make Broken Wing revolve around Alpha. It would have sucked. My muse, my backstage helper person, my person to stop me when I started writing something else and stick my nose back into Broken Wing and say WRITE! NOW! You who read every chapter after I posted it, even though you read most of it before hand any way. Also, thanks for reminding me about White Fang and the Zero System in chapter 20. That would have been bad. And, as much as it annoyed me at the time, thanks for making me promise not to start anything else until I finished Broken Wing. Oh, and one more thing. Aishiteru.

**Marika Webster:** Crikey, me arm! SHAOLIN WAAAH!!! Okies, I know I didn't spell that right, but who really cares except you, ne? Hehe. I know Trenchcoat Man and I drove you insane talking about Gundam Wing for months straight, but it was worth it to finally get you obsessed. And now look at you! A GW fanfic author in your own right::sniffs:: I'm so proud! Anyone who doesn't read your fics is a sad, sad person indeed. Even the ones NOT about Gundam Wing. Hehehe. Wuvoos!

**VeeBees:** We've had our differences, and we've had our fights. We haven't spoken recently as much as we used to, but I still consider you my friend. If you're reading this, GAH! I NEED HELP WITH DREAM INFINITY!

**Rashaka-chan:** THANK YOU! You are the reason I was able to finish Broken Wing. If not for you, I would still be stuck on chapter 20 and wallowing around in a pool of self-pity wondering what in the Earthsphere to do. No, I didn't need your summaries of the following episodes after all, but the one you did give me was the hammer that broke that damn writer's block. It was a nasty one too. Really big. Huge.

**Dee-chan:** When you finally get this far, teehee, tell me what you think. Was I evil? Should I be hit by a bus? Or should Mrs. Barnyard be hit by a bus? I think the latter.

**Usagi Asia Maxwell:** Didn't you annoy me about chapter 20 when I started saying I was writing it again::grins:: Thanks for that!

**Usa-chan: **Aw, c'mon, you know what a brilliant and amazing genius you are, you don't need me to tell you. You might not have had a direct effect on Broken Wing, but you kept writing your own great fics . . . pumping them out so fast one would have thought you just had nothing else at ALL to do except write . . . that I realized that it was taking me over a year to get ONE fanfic written! So, here it is, the finished product.

**Everyone Else:** There are so many other people who had an effect on Broken Wing, either directly or indirectly, I can't possibly name them all. Don't feel bad if your name wasn't mentioned. Please! I'LL feel bad and start to cry! Because ALL of you inspired me to finish BW! Only my fellow fanfic authors know how much the readers truly inspire the authors. Without you guys, without your numerous and encouraging reviews, I would have dumped Broken Wing a long time ago with the thought that my writing sucked and I never would be able to write anything worthwhile. You guys let me know that someone WAS reading my work, someone WAS liking it, and someone DID want more. I hope, one day (soon, hopefully), to be a professional author. Finishing Broken Wing gives me so much confidence in my ability to do this, and it is thanks to all of you. I hope that you all will return for my future stories, and will continue to support me with your great reviews. Thank you.

Sailorcelestial


End file.
